CN112868366A

CN112868366A - Automatic travel control system, automatic travel route generation system, and combine

Info

Publication number: CN112868366A
Application number: CN202011354153.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 渡边俊树; 佐野友彦; 吉田脩; 川畑翔太郎
Original assignee: Kubota Corp
Current assignee: Kubota Corp
Priority date: 2019-11-29
Filing date: 2020-11-27
Publication date: 2021-06-01
Also published as: KR20210067930A

Abstract

The invention provides an automatic travel control system, an automatic travel route generation system, and a combine. One of the automatic travel control systems controls automatic travel of a combine harvester that harvests crops in an unworked area, and includes: a predicted total yield obtaining unit that obtains a predicted total yield of grains predicted to be available by harvesting a crop on an unworked area; and a travel path generation unit that generates a travel path of the combine harvester in the non-working area. The travel route generation unit sets a partial work area, which is a partial area of the non-work area, and generates a travel route of the combine harvester within the partial work area when the total estimated output acquired by the total estimated output acquisition unit exceeds a specific amount. The partial work area is set such that the expected total yield of grain that would be expected to be available by harvesting the crop in the partial work area does not exceed a specified amount. This can suppress a reduction in work efficiency.

Description

Automatic travel control system, automatic travel route generation system, and combine

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an automatic travel control system.

The present invention relates to an automatic travel route generation system.

The present invention relates to an automatic travel control system for a combine harvester that cuts crop while traveling around an outer peripheral region of a field and cuts crop while traveling back and forth in an inner region inside the outer peripheral region, and a combine harvester equipped with the automatic travel control system.

Background

< background art 1>

Patent document 1 describes an automatic travel system for a harvester that travels while harvesting crops in a field. In the harvesting operation by the automatic traveling system, first, the vehicle travels around 3 to 4 circles along the boundary of the field. This operation is called wrap-around harvesting, during which the area over which the work vehicle travels is set as the outer peripheral area. The area inside the outer peripheral area is set as a work target area, and work travel is performed on the work target area by automatic travel.

< background art 2>

Patent document 1 describes an automatic traveling system for a work vehicle that travels while performing work on a work site. In the harvesting operation by the automatic traveling system, first, the vehicle travels around 3 to 4 circles along the boundary of the field. This operation is called wrap-around harvesting, during which the area over which the work vehicle travels is set as the outer peripheral area. The area inside the outer peripheral area is set as a work target area, and work travel is performed on the work target area by automatic travel.

Patent document 2 describes a combine harvester capable of automatically performing corner harvesting work for harvesting non-harvested grain stalks at corners of a field. In the combine harvester, when the automatic corner harvesting mode is executed, the control device performs control for performing the following operation operations for a set number of times: the cutting part is raised and then the machine body is retreated by a predetermined distance and stopped, and the cutting part is lowered and then the machine body is turned at a predetermined angle and is advanced by a predetermined distance and stopped while cutting is performed. As shown in fig. 6 and 10, the turning angle of the body is set so that the position at which the forward movement is stopped is displaced by the harvesting width of the harvesting section. Thus, the automatic corner harvesting is performed by repeating the working operation, so that the harvested land is gradually enlarged. Then, the direction of the body is changed on the produced harvested land (fig. 7 and 11), and harvesting is performed along the next side.

< background Art 3>

For example, in an automatic travel control system for a combine harvester disclosed in patent document 3, the combine harvester cuts crop while reciprocating in an inner region (in the document, " orientation direction toward the target region)") inside an outer peripheral region. In the inner area, a plurality of parallel travel routes are set by the travel route setting unit.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2018-73399

Patent document 2: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2011-24427

Patent document 3: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2019-110762

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem to be solved by the invention

< technical problem 1>

In the technique of background art 1, before the grain tank of the harvester is filled, it is necessary to stop the harvester near the transport vehicle parked at the ridge and discharge the crop to the transport vehicle. When the work area is large, the vehicle needs to travel away from the work area and toward the transport vehicle during harvesting work performed on the work area. Depending on the shape of the work area and the position of the transport vehicle, the work area may be separated from the work area to perform the discharge, which may reduce work efficiency.

A first object of the present invention is to provide an automatic travel control system capable of suppressing a reduction in work efficiency.

< technical problem 2>

In the technique of background art 2, according to the description of patent document 1, the cutting is prevented from remaining around at least the outermost circumference of the harvest and the cutting is prevented from hitting a ridge, and the harvesting is performed by manually traveling. In the corner regions of the field, traveling is performed by repeating forward and backward movements a plurality of times so as not to leave uncut grain stalks. Therefore, the surrounding harvesting not only needs a long time, but also needs manual operation of operators, and the working efficiency is low.

In the corner harvesting of the system described in patent document 2, the direction is changed little by little, and the field is gradually enlarged by repeating the forward and backward movements, so that a wide field is secured, and the direction is changed on the field. For this reason, a very large number of forward and backward switches (7 times in the example of fig. 6 to 7 thereof, and 8 times in the example of fig. 10 to 11 thereof) are required. Therefore, the corner harvesting work is automatically performed, but it takes a long time, and the work efficiency is low.

A second object of the invention is to provide a method for making the automatic harvesting travel of the corners of the field efficient.

< technical problem 3>

In the case of the technique of background art 3, if the field is shaped in a regular topography, the combine can easily cut the crop in the inner area directly along the parallel travel path after the combine cuts the planted standing straw while traveling along the outer circumference of the field. However, if the field is an irregular terrain, a case is considered in which the outer periphery of the uncurved area after the combine harvester cuts the crop in the peripheral area of the field does not follow the parallel travel path at all. In general, in order to improve the efficiency of the harvesting operation and the accuracy of the threshing process of the combine harvester, it is desirable that the sides located on the left and right outer sides with respect to the parallel travel path among the outer peripheral edges of the unharvested region follow the parallel travel path.

A third object of the present invention is to provide an automatic travel control system capable of improving the efficiency of the harvesting operation of the combine harvester and the precision of the threshing process.

Means for solving the problems

< means for solving 1>

The automatic travel control system for achieving the first object is characterized by controlling automatic travel of a combine harvester that harvests crops in an unworked area, and comprising: a predicted total yield obtaining section that obtains a predicted total yield of grains predicted to be available by harvesting the crop on the non-working land; a travel path generation unit that generates a travel path of the combine harvester in the non-working area; the travel route generation unit sets a partial work area, which is a partial area of the non-work area, and generates the travel route of the combine harvester within the partial work area when the total yield estimated by the total yield estimation unit exceeds a specific amount, the partial work area being set such that the total yield estimated to be available for harvesting the crop in the partial work area does not exceed the specific amount.

According to the above-described characteristic configuration, when the automatic travel is completed on the travel route generated inside the partial working area, the total yield of the obtained grains does not exceed the specific amount, and therefore, for example, by setting the specific amount to be smaller than the capacity of the grain tank of the combine harvester, it is possible to suppress the deviation from the partial working area in the middle of the harvesting work performed on the partial working area. Therefore, a reduction in work efficiency in the harvesting work can be suppressed.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the automatic travel control system includes: a yield rate obtaining unit that obtains a yield rate that is a yield of grains per unit area in the non-working area; an area acquisition unit that acquires an area of the non-working area; the predicted total output obtaining unit calculates the predicted total output based on the output obtained by the output obtaining unit and the area of the non-working area obtained by the area obtaining unit.

According to the above feature, the expected total yield can be calculated with high accuracy, and the error between the expected total yield and the actual total yield is reduced, so that the deviation from the partial working area during the working can be appropriately suppressed, and the reduction in the working efficiency during the harvesting working can be reliably suppressed.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the specific amount is a predetermined amount set in advance, or an amount obtained by subtracting a storage amount of grain stored in a grain storage unit of the combine harvester from the predetermined amount set in advance.

According to the above-described characteristic configuration, when the specific amount is a predetermined amount set in advance, a decrease in work efficiency can be reliably suppressed with a simple configuration. When the specific amount is obtained by subtracting the storage amount of the grains stored in the grain storage unit of the combine harvester from a predetermined amount set in advance, the specific amount changes according to the current storage amount of the grains, and therefore the set partial working range corresponds to the current storage amount of the grains. Therefore, the separation from the partial working area during the working can be more appropriately suppressed, and the reduction in working efficiency during the harvesting work can be reliably suppressed.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the travel route generation unit sets, as the partial working area, an area in which the non-working area is divided by a straight line parallel to the traveling direction.

According to the above-described characteristic configuration, at least one side of the partial working area is parallel to the row direction, and therefore at least a part of the travel path in the partial working area can be made parallel to the one side. This makes it possible to cause the harvesting work performed by automatic travel in the partial work area to be directed in the row direction, and thus the efficiency of the harvesting work can be improved.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the travel route generation unit sets the travel route such that the travel route in the partial work area is parallel to a traveling direction.

According to the above-described characteristic configuration, the harvesting work performed by the automatic travel in the partial working area can be made to be along the row direction, and the efficiency of the harvesting work can be improved.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the travel route generation unit sets the travel route as follows: the combine is caused to travel on a travel path located at one end portion in a direction orthogonal to the row direction in the partial working area, and then immediately after traveling on a travel path located at the other end portion in the direction orthogonal to the row direction in the partial working area.

According to the above-described characteristic configuration, since the combine harvester travels alternately on the travel paths at both end portions in the direction orthogonal to the row direction in the partial working area, the harvesting work performed by the automatic travel in the inside of the partial working area can be made to follow the row direction, and the efficiency of the harvesting work can be improved.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the travel route generation unit sets the partial work area so that a width of the partial work area in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction is smaller than a predetermined threshold width.

According to the above-described characteristic configuration, since the width of the partial working area (the width in the direction orthogonal to the row direction) is small, harvesting is performed by automatic travel in the row direction in a large amount, and the efficiency of harvesting work can be improved. In particular, when harvesting is performed only by automatic travel in the row direction (for example, automatic travel in a U-turn round travel mode), the distance between automatic harvesting travel and automatic harvesting travel during turning travel without harvesting becomes small, and the efficiency of harvesting work can be improved.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the travel route generation unit sets a remaining area, from which the partial work area is removed from the non-work area, as a new non-work area to be a next partial work area.

According to the above-described characteristic configuration, the partial working regions can be set for each non-working area of the field to advance the work, and the reduction in working efficiency can be suppressed in the harvesting work of the entire field.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the travel route generating unit generates a travel route of the combine harvester to a grain discharge position when the storage amount of the grain storage unit at the time of harvesting the crop in the partial working area exceeds a predetermined storage amount, and generates the travel route of the combine harvester in the next partial working area when the storage amount of the grain storage unit at the time of harvesting the crop in the partial working area is equal to or less than the predetermined storage amount.

According to the above feature configuration, it is selected whether to discharge grain or harvest in the next partial working area, based on the storage amount of the grain storage unit when the crop in the partial working area is harvested. That is, an appropriate work can be selected according to the storage amount of the grain storage unit, and the harvesting work can be efficiently advanced.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the travel route generation unit sets the next partial working area based on a grain yield obtained by harvesting the crop in the partial working area.

According to the above-described characteristic configuration, the width of the partial working area to be set next becomes appropriate, and a reduction in working efficiency in the harvesting work can be suppressed.

< means for solving 2>

The automatic travel route generation system for achieving the second object has a characteristic configuration that is an automatic travel route generation system for generating an automatic travel route of a harvester that harvests a crop in a field, the automatic travel route generation system including: a field shape acquisition unit that acquires the shape of a corner of a field; a corner travel path generation unit that generates a corner travel path that is a path of automatic harvesting travel of the corner; the corner travel path includes: a first path that advances while harvesting the crop along one of the edges forming the corner; a second path that is a path retreating along the first path; a third path which is a path that leaves an unworked area between the first path and the third path and advances while harvesting a crop in a direction intersecting the first path; a fourth path which is a path retreated along the third path; and a fifth path that advances while harvesting the crop in the non-working area between the first path and the third path, and that travels in a direction between the first path and the third path and turns to travel along the other of the edges forming the corner.

According to the above feature, harvesting of the field corner can be performed by a small amount of forward and backward movements along the five paths from the first path to the fifth path. Furthermore, since the harvesting of the corners is performed by the automatic travel along the first to fifth paths, the travel path of the harvester can be controlled more precisely than the operation by the operator, and the overlapping between the paths can be reduced to suppress the occurrence of the harvesting residue (non-working place). Therefore, the automatic harvesting travel at the corner of the field can be made efficient.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the corner travel path generating unit generates the third path based on a harvesting width of the harvester.

According to the above feature, since the third path is generated based on the harvesting width of the harvester, the width of the non-working area remaining between the first path and the third path is an appropriate width corresponding to the harvesting width. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of unused areas remaining in the corner portion after the completion of the automatic harvesting travel of the corner portion travel path.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the corner travel path generation unit generates the third path based on a turning radius of the harvester.

If the turning radius of the harvester changes, the turning locus in the fifth path needs to be changed, and the size and position of the area inside the turning locus change. If a large area of non-working land remains inside the turning locus of the fifth path, the crop on the non-working land may be crushed or rolled by the turning of the harvester, resulting in crop loss. According to the above-described characteristic configuration, since the third path is generated based on the turning radius of the harvester, the area inside the turning locus in the fifth path can be appropriately set as the worked area, and the loss of the crop can be reduced.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the corner travel path generation unit generates the third path based on an amount of grain stored in a grain storage unit of the harvester.

If the amount of grain stored in the grain storage unit is large, the weight of the harvester increases, and therefore, the turning radius of the harvester needs to be increased. According to the above-described characteristic configuration, since the third route is generated based on the stored amount of the grain stored in the grain storage unit, the area inside the turning locus in the fifth route can be appropriately set as the worked area, and the loss of the crop can be reduced.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the corner travel path generation unit generates the third path based on a state of a field.

The turning radius of the harvester needs to be changed according to the state of the field. For example, in the case where the field is a soft, wet field, the turning radius needs to be increased. According to the above-described characteristic configuration, since the third path is generated based on the state of the field, the area inside the turning locus in the fifth path can be appropriately set as the worked area, and the loss of the crop can be reduced.

< solving means 3>

In accordance with a third object of the present invention, there is provided an automatic travel control system for a combine harvester that cuts crop while performing circle travel in an outer peripheral region of a field and cuts crop while performing reciprocating travel in an inner region inside the outer peripheral region, the automatic travel control system comprising: a circle travel path setting unit capable of setting a circle travel path in the outer peripheral region; a parallel travel route setting unit capable of setting a plurality of parallel travel routes parallel to each other in the inner area; an automatic travel control unit that automatically travels the combine along the circle travel path and the plurality of parallel travel paths; in a case where a side located on the left-right outer side with respect to the parallel travel path among the sides constituting the field shape is not parallel to the parallel travel path, the circle travel path setting section sets the circle travel path to: the combine is caused to travel while performing a cutting operation on the circle travel path, and a side of the sides constituting the outer peripheral shape of the inner region, which is located on the left and right outer sides with respect to the parallel travel path, is caused to be parallel to the parallel travel path.

If the crop is harvested by only performing a round-trip travel in the outer peripheral region of the field, there may be a case where the outer periphery of the inner region left as an uncurved region does not follow the parallel travel path at all. If the present invention is applied, even in the case where the sides located on the left and right outer sides with respect to the parallel travel path among the sides constituting the field shape are not parallel to the parallel travel path, after the combine harvester makes a circle travel in the outer peripheral area along the circle travel path, the sides located on the left and right outer sides among the outer peripheral shape of the inner area will become to extend in parallel along the parallel travel path. That is, even if the field is irregularly shaped, the sides of the outer periphery of the inner region that are located on the outer left and right sides with respect to the parallel travel path follow the parallel travel path. Thus, an automatic travel control system capable of improving the efficiency of the harvesting operation of the combine harvester and the precision of the threshing processing can be realized. A combine harvester equipped with the automatic travel control system of the present invention is also included in the scope of claims.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the automatic travel control system includes a row information acquiring unit capable of acquiring a row direction of the crop, and the circle travel route setting unit sets the circle travel route such that, of the sides constituting the outer peripheral shape of the inner region, the side located on the left and right outer sides with respect to the parallel travel route is directed in the row direction.

Even if the field is irregular, it is desirable that the outer peripheral shape of the non-harvested region after the planted grain stalks are harvested by the combine harvester while traveling around the outer peripheral region of the field is as large as possible in the row direction. With this configuration, the side of the outer periphery of the inner region located on the left and right outer sides with respect to the parallel travel path is along the row direction, so that the combine can cut the planted straw while reciprocating in the row direction in the inner region. Therefore, the precision of the threshing process of the combine harvester is further improved.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the row information acquiring unit is capable of acquiring a row position and a row interval, and the parallel travel route setting unit sets the plurality of parallel travel routes in accordance with the number of harvesting rows of the combine harvester, based on the row position and the row interval.

According to this configuration, since the plurality of parallel travel paths are set in accordance with the number of harvesting rows of the combine harvester, the parallel travel path setting unit can set the parallel travel paths more efficiently in accordance with the number of harvesting rows of the combine harvester.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the circle travel path setting portion sets the circle travel path such that an outer peripheral shape of the inner region becomes a rectangle.

With this configuration, the outer peripheral shape of the inner region is simplified, and the parallel travel route can be easily set by the parallel travel route setting unit.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the automatic travel control system includes a harvesting unit provided at a front portion of the body of the combine harvester and configured to harvest crops in a field, and the circle travel path setting unit is configured to set the circle travel path to: when the combine harvester performs the circle traveling, the ratio of the crop entering the harvesting portion with the harvesting portion being biased to the left and right sides increases or decreases as the combine harvester advances.

According to this configuration, when the combine harvester travels around the outer peripheral region along the circle travel path corresponding to the side located on the left and right outer sides with respect to the parallel travel path among the sides constituting the field shape, the crop enters the harvesting portion while being deviated to the left and right sides. Moreover, the proportion of the portion of the harvesting portion into which the crop is biased increases or decreases as the combine progresses. Therefore, the extending direction of the side on the left and right outer sides with respect to the parallel travel path in the outer peripheral shape of the uncut area after cutting along the circle travel path becomes close to the extending direction of the parallel travel path or coincides with the extending direction of the parallel travel path.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the automatic travel control system includes a harvesting inclination changing mechanism provided in the combine harvester and capable of tilting the harvesting unit to change a lateral inclination of the harvesting unit, and the automatic travel control system includes an inclination control unit capable of performing inclination control in which the harvesting inclination changing mechanism changes a lateral inclination of the harvesting unit so that a height position of a portion of the harvesting unit on the other lateral side where no crop enters is higher than a height position of a portion of the harvesting unit on the one lateral side when a crop enters the harvesting unit while being biased to the one lateral side with respect to the harvesting unit.

With this configuration, the portion of the harvesting portion opposite to the side into which the crop is biased to enter is higher than the portion of the harvesting portion opposite to the side into which the crop is biased to enter, so that the risk of straw chips or the like scattered in the harvested region being picked up by the harvesting portion can be reduced.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a left side view of the combine harvester of embodiment 1.

Fig. 2 is a view showing initial circle-around travel in a field according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing automatic traveling in the α -turn round traveling mode according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing automatic traveling in the U-turn round traveling mode in a partial working area according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing automatic traveling in the U-turn round traveling mode in the partial working area according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing automatic traveling in the U-turn round traveling mode in the remaining non-working area according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing automatic traveling in the U-turn round traveling mode in a partial working area according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration related to the control unit according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 9 is a left side view of the combine harvester of embodiment 2.

Fig. 10 is a view showing initial circle-around travel in a field according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 11 is a diagram showing automatic traveling in the α -turn round traveling mode according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 12 is a diagram showing automatic traveling in the U-turn round traveling mode according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 13 is a block diagram showing a configuration related to the control unit according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a corner portion travel path according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a corner portion travel path according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 16 is a left side view of the combine harvester of embodiment 3.

Fig. 17 is a block diagram showing a configuration related to a control unit according to embodiment 3.

Fig. 18 is a view showing a mowing travel of the combine harvester in the outer peripheral region of the field of embodiment 3.

Fig. 19 is a view showing the mowing travel of the combine harvester in the outer peripheral region of the field of embodiment 3.

Fig. 20 is a view showing the mowing travel of the combine harvester in the outer peripheral region of the field of embodiment 3.

Fig. 21 is a view showing a mowing travel of the combine harvester in the inner region of the field in embodiment 3.

Fig. 22 is a flowchart showing a flow of a process of the tilt control according to embodiment 3.

Fig. 23 is a diagram showing a state in which the harvesting unit according to embodiment 3 is tilted by the tilt control.

Fig. 24 is a diagram showing a state in which the harvesting unit according to embodiment 3 is tilted by the tilt control.

Fig. 25 is a diagram showing a state in which the harvesting unit according to embodiment 3 is tilted by the tilt control.

Fig. 26 is a diagram showing a state in which the harvesting unit according to embodiment 3 is tilted by the tilt control.

Fig. 27 is a diagram showing a state in which the harvesting unit according to embodiment 3 is tilted by the tilt control.

Fig. 28 is a diagram showing a state in which the harvesting unit according to embodiment 3 is tilted by the tilt control.

Fig. 29 is a diagram showing a state in which the harvesting unit according to embodiment 3 is tilted by the tilt control.

Fig. 30 is a diagram showing a state in which the harvesting unit according to embodiment 3 is tilted by the tilt control.

Fig. 31 is a diagram showing a state in which the harvesting unit according to embodiment 3 is tilted by the tilt control.

Fig. 32 is a view showing another embodiment of the mowing travel of the combine harvester in the peripheral region of the field.

Fig. 33 is a view showing another embodiment of the mowing travel of the combine harvester in the peripheral region of the field.

Fig. 34 is a view showing another embodiment of the mowing travel of the combine harvester in the peripheral region of the field.

Description of the reference numerals

< embodiment 1>

1: combine harvester

17: grain box (grain storage)

80: control unit (traveling route generating unit)

85: predicted total yield acquisition unit

85 a: yield rate obtaining section

85 b: area acquisition unit

A1: region (non-operation land)

A2: region (non-operation land)

D1: part of the working area

D2: part of the working area

L: harvest driving path (driving path)

NS 1: straight line

NS 2: straight line

PP: discharge position

UL: discharge travel route (travel route)

W1: width of

W2: width of

< embodiment 2>

1: combine harvester (harvester)

82: field shape acquisition unit

85: route calculation unit (corner travel route generation unit)

CL: corner travel path

L1: side (one side)

L2: side (another side)

NY: at rest

R1: first path

R2: second path

R3: third path

R4: the fourth path

R5: the fifth route

RA 1: radius of turning

RA 2: radius of turning

W: width of harvest

< embodiment 3>

1: combine harvester

22A: line information acquisition unit

23: travel route setting unit

23A: circle travel path setting unit

23B: parallel travel route setting unit

24: automatic travel control unit

25: tilt control unit

29: lifting device (cutting inclined changing mechanism)

CA: inner region

H: cutting part

L1-L8: round-winding travel path

L51-L66: round-winding travel path

LS: parallel travel path

And SA: peripheral region

S0: outer peripheral shape of inner region

Detailed Description

< embodiment 1>

An example of an automatic travel control system for controlling automatic travel of a combine harvester for harvesting a crop in an unworked area will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that in the following description, the direction of arrow F is "front side of the body", the direction of arrow B is "rear side of the body", the direction of arrow U is "upper side", and the direction of arrow D is "lower side". When the left and right are indicated, the right hand side in the state of facing the front side of the body is referred to as "right", and the left hand side is referred to as "left".

[ integral structure of combine harvester ]

A semi-feeding type combine as an example of the combine is shown in fig. 1. The combine harvester 1 includes a machine body 10 and a crawler type traveling device 11. A harvesting part 12 for harvesting the planted vertical grain stalks of the field is arranged at the front part of the machine body 10.

The machine body 10 is provided with a driver section 13 at the rear of the harvesting section 12. The cab 13 is located on the right side in the front of the machine body 10. A transport unit 14 for transporting the harvested material harvested by the harvesting unit 12 is provided to the left of the steering unit 13.

A threshing device 15 for threshing the harvested material conveyed by the conveying unit 14 is provided behind the conveying unit 14. A discharged straw treatment device 16 for cutting the discharged straw is provided at the rear of the threshing device 15.

A grain tank 17 (an example of a "grain storage unit") for storing grains obtained by the threshing device 15 is provided behind the driving unit 13 and to the right of the threshing device 15. The grain tank 17 is provided with a storage amount sensor 17a (see fig. 8) for detecting the amount of grains stored in the grain tank 17.

A discharge device 18 for discharging the grains stored in the grain tank 17 to the outside is provided at the rear of the grain tank 17. The discharge device 18 is rotatable about a rotation axis extending in the vertical direction.

A satellite positioning module 19 is provided at a left side portion of the front of the steering section 13. The satellite Positioning module 19 receives a signal from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite, and generates Positioning data indicating the position of the vehicle of the combine harvester 1 based on the signal.

The driver unit 13 is provided with a management terminal 21 (see fig. 8). The management terminal 21 is configured to be able to display various information. The management terminal 21 may be configured to be capable of receiving input operations of various settings (setting of the discharge position PP, setting of the priority travel mode, and the like, which will be described later) related to automatic travel of the combine harvester 1.

A communication unit 23 (see fig. 8) is provided to be connectable to an external communication network. The communication unit 23 is configured to be able to communicate with an external server or the like through the communication network.

The combine harvester 1 is configured to be self-propelled by the traveling device 11, and configured to be capable of performing harvesting traveling in which the traveling device 11 travels while harvesting the standing grain stalks of the field by the harvesting unit 12.

[ harvesting operation of combine harvester ]

The harvesting operation of the half-feed type combine harvester 1 in the field will be described with reference to fig. 2 to 6. In the present embodiment, an example in which the field has a rectangular outer shape is described as shown in fig. 2. In the illustrated example, the long side of the field is parallel to the east-west direction, the short side of the field is parallel to the north-south direction, and the row direction is the north-south direction. A transport vehicle CV for transporting grain discharged from the combine harvester 1 is stopped on the north side of the field, and a discharge position PP is set at a position near the transport vehicle CV in the field (see fig. 3 to 6).

First, as shown in fig. 2, harvesting travel (initial winding travel) is performed in a region on the outer circumferential side of the field so as to wind along the boundary line of the field. An area where work has been performed by the initial circle-around travel is set as an outer peripheral area SA (see fig. 3), and an area where no work has been performed inside the outer peripheral area SA is set as a work target area CA (see fig. 3).

When harvesting the standing straw in the working object area CA by the automatic travel, the outer peripheral area SA is used as a space for the combine harvester 1 to change its direction (turning travel described later). The outer peripheral area SA is also used as a space for movement to the discharge position PP and movement to the refueling place.

In order to secure the width of the outer peripheral area SA to a certain extent, the initial winding travel is performed for about 2 to 4 weeks. The initial round trip travel may be performed by manual travel or may be performed by automatic travel. The initial winding travel is performed such that one side (preferably, opposite sides) of the work area CA is parallel to the row direction. In the present embodiment, a case will be described where the work area CA is rectangular and two opposing short sides of the work area CA are parallel to the row direction.

Immediately after the initial circling travel, the standing straw of the work target area CA is harvested by automatic travel. In this automatic travel, an automatic harvesting travel in which the standing straw is harvested while automatically traveling on a harvesting travel path L (an example of a travel path) set in the work target area CA and a turning travel in which the standing straw is harvested are repeated, the turning travel being a travel performed between one automatic harvesting travel and the next automatic harvesting travel. The turning travel is automatic travel on the turning travel path T connecting between the two harvesting travel paths L.

The above-described automatic harvesting travel and turning travel are performed in accordance with a predetermined travel pattern. As the running mode, an α -turn round running mode shown in fig. 3 and a U-turn round running mode shown in fig. 4 to 6 are exemplified.

The α -turn round travel mode (fig. 3) is a travel mode in which the vehicle travels on the harvesting travel path L parallel to the four sides of the rectangular work target area CA in order and turns by α -turn travel. The α -turn running is performed by advancing along the extending direction of the preceding harvesting running path L, retreating running including the turn running, and advancing along the extending direction of the following harvesting running path L. The automatic running based on the α -turn circle running mode is a spiral running as shown in fig. 3.

The U-turn round travel mode (fig. 4 to 6) is a travel mode in which the vehicle travels on the harvesting travel path L parallel to the two opposite sides of the rectangular region alternately from the outside in order and turns by the U-turn travel. In the present embodiment, automatic travel by the U-turn circle travel mode is performed for a rectangular partial work area D1 (fig. 4), a partial work area D2 (fig. 5), and an area a2 (fig. 6) which are generated by dividing a rectangular work target area CA by straight lines NS1 and NS2 parallel to the row direction. The U-turn running is performed only by the forward running including the turn running. As shown in fig. 4 to 6, the automatic running by the U-turn round running mode is a spiral running like the α -turn round running mode.

In the present embodiment, the harvesting travel path L that travels in the U-turn circle travel mode is set to a path that is parallel to both sides of the work target area CA that are parallel to the row direction. That is, in the automatic travel based on the U-turn round travel mode, the automatic harvesting travel is performed only on the path parallel to the row direction. Therefore, the combine harvester 1 as a half-feed type combine harvester can appropriately perform threshing processing, and is preferable.

When the width of the outer peripheral area SA is narrow and it is difficult to perform automatic traveling by the U-turn round traveling mode, automatic traveling by the α -turn round traveling mode is performed prior to the U-turn round traveling mode. In the case where the width of the outer peripheral area SA is sufficiently large to enable automatic traveling in the U-turn round traveling mode, automatic traveling in the α -turn round traveling mode may not be performed.

When the amount of grain stored in the grain tank 17 increases, the discharging travel is performed from the harvest-suspended position IP (fig. 5 and 6) to the discharge position PP at which the grain is discharged, and the grain is discharged at the discharge position PP by the discharge device 18. When a non-working area remains in the working area CA after discharging of grain grains is completed, return travel is performed from the discharge position PP to a harvest restart position RP (fig. 5 and 6) at which harvesting of the standing grain stalks is restarted. When no unprocessed field remains in the operation target area CA, the harvesting operation is ended.

As shown in fig. 5, 6, the discharging travel may be performed after the end of the automatic travel on one harvesting travel path L. In this case, the harvest resumption position RP is a starting point of the next harvest travel path L. The discharging travel may also be performed by interrupting the automatic travel on the harvesting travel path L. In this case, the harvesting restart position RP is a position at which the automatic travel in the harvesting travel path L is interrupted.

[ control-related Structure ]

As shown in fig. 8, the control unit 80 (an example of the "travel route generating unit") of the combine harvester 1 includes a vehicle position calculating unit 81, an area calculating unit 82, a route calculating unit 83, a travel control unit 84, a total expected output acquiring unit 85, and a discharge control unit 86.

The vehicle position calculating unit 81 calculates the position coordinates of the combine harvester 1 with the passage of time based on the positioning data generated by the satellite positioning module 19.

The area calculation unit 82 calculates the outer peripheral area SA and the work area CA based on the position coordinates of the combine harvester 1 over time calculated by the vehicle position calculation unit 81. Specifically, the area calculator 82 calculates the travel locus of the combine harvester 1 in the circle travel (initial circle travel) on the outer peripheral side of the field based on the position coordinates of the combine harvester 1 with the passage of time calculated by the vehicle position calculator 81. Then, based on the calculated travel locus of the combine harvester 1, the area calculation unit 82 sets an area on the outer peripheral side of the field through which the combine harvester 1 travels while harvesting the standing grain stalks as an outer peripheral area SA. The area calculation unit 82 sets an area inside the field from the calculated outer peripheral area SA as the work target area CA.

For example, in fig. 2, a path along which the combine harvester 1 travels during circle traveling (initial circle traveling) on the outer peripheral side of the field is shown by an arrow. In the example of the figure, the combine harvester 1 performs a loop travel of 3 revolutions. When the initial circle-around travel is completed, the field is in the state shown in fig. 3.

As shown in fig. 3, the area calculation unit 82 calculates an area on the outer peripheral side of the field where the combine harvester 1 travels while planting the grain stalks as the outer peripheral area SA, and calculates an area inside the field from the calculated outer peripheral area SA as the work target area CA.

The route calculation unit 83 calculates a harvesting travel route L for automatic harvesting travel inside the work area CA based on the calculation result of the area calculation unit 82. In the present embodiment, the harvesting travel path L is a plurality of grid lines extending parallel to the four sides of the work target area CA. The route calculation unit 83 calculates a turning travel route T for turning travel (α -turn travel, U-turn travel) that connects the two harvesting travel routes L. The route calculation unit 83 calculates a discharge travel route UL for discharge travel and a return travel route RL for return travel based on the harvest interruption position IP and the harvest resumption position RP set by the discharge control unit 86. The discharge travel path UL is a path connecting the harvest-interruption position IP and the discharge position PP. The return travel path RL is a path connecting the discharge position PP and the harvest restart position RP.

Further, when the total predicted yield acquired by the total predicted yield acquisition unit 85 exceeds a specific amount, the route calculation unit 83 sets a partial working area, which is a partial area of the non-working area, and calculates the harvest travel route L inside the partial working area. In the example shown in fig. 4 to 6, the route calculation unit 83 sets the partial working areas D1 and D2, and calculates the harvesting travel routes L11 to L24 in the interior of these areas. The route calculation unit 83 sets the partial working area as follows: the expected total yield of grain that would be expected to be available by harvesting the crop in a portion of the work area would not exceed a specified amount. Here, the specific amount is a predetermined amount set in advance, or is an amount obtained by subtracting the storage amount of grains stored in the grain tank 17 of the combine harvester 1 from the predetermined amount set in advance. For example, the specific amount is a predetermined amount set in advance, and is an amount of 90% of the full amount of the grain tank 17. For example, the specific amount is obtained by subtracting the storage amount of grains stored in the grain tank 17 of the combine harvester 1 from a predetermined amount (for example, 90% of the full amount of the grain tank 17) set in advance.

The path calculation unit 83 sets the partial working area so that the width (widths W1, W2, see fig. 4 to 6) of the partial working area in the direction perpendicular to the row direction is smaller than a predetermined threshold width.

The travel control unit 84 is configured to be able to control the travel device 11 and the harvesting unit 12. The travel control unit 84 sets a travel route to be traveled next from the travel routes (the harvesting travel route L, the turning travel route T, the discharging travel route UL, the returning travel route RL, and the like) calculated by the route calculation unit 83. The travel control unit 84 sets the travel route based on the travel modes (α -turn round travel and U-turn round travel modes) described above and the discharge timing (described below) set by the discharge control unit 86. In the present embodiment, when the partial working area is set by the route calculation unit 83, the travel control unit 84 sets a travel route to be traveled next from the harvest travel route L in the partial working area. Then, the travel control unit 84 controls the automatic travel of the combine harvester 1 based on the position coordinates of the combine harvester 1 calculated by the vehicle position calculating unit 81 and the set travel route. Specifically, the travel control unit 84 controls the travel device 11 of the combine harvester 1 so that the combine harvester 1 travels along the set travel path. The travel control unit 84 operates the harvesting unit 12 when the combine harvester 1 travels on the harvesting travel path L.

The expected total yield obtaining section 85 obtains an expected total yield of grains expected to be available by harvesting crops in an unworked area.

The expected total yield acquisition unit 85 includes a yield acquisition unit 85a and an area acquisition unit 85 b. The yield rate obtaining unit 85a obtains a yield rate, which is a yield of grains per unit area in a non-working area. Specifically, the yield rate acquisition unit 85a calculates the area of the non-work area where the harvesting travel has passed based on the change with time of the position coordinates of the combine harvester 1 calculated by the vehicle position calculation unit 81, and calculates the amount of grain obtained from the non-work area based on the change with time of the storage amount of grain in the grain box 17 detected by the storage amount sensor 17 a. Then, the yield rate obtaining unit 85a calculates the yield rate by dividing the amount of grains obtained from the non-worked place by the area of the non-worked place. The calculation of the yield rate may be performed by the yield rate acquisition unit 85a every time the harvest travel of a predetermined area (or distance) is performed, or the calculation of the yield rate may be performed by the yield rate acquisition unit 85a for the entire predetermined area. For example, the calculation may be performed for the outer peripheral area SA, or may be performed for the work target area CA, the partial work areas D1, D2, and the like.

The area obtaining unit 85b obtains the area of the non-working area. Specifically, the area obtaining unit 85b calculates the area of the non-working area to be the target of the total expected yield calculation based on the setting results (the working area CA, the partial working areas D1, D2, and the like) of the area calculating unit 82 or the route calculating unit 83.

The predicted total yield acquisition unit 85 calculates the predicted total yield based on the yield acquired by the yield acquisition unit 85a and the area of the non-working area acquired by the area acquisition unit 85 b. Specifically, the predicted total output obtaining unit 85 calculates the predicted total output by multiplying the output rate obtained by the output rate obtaining unit 85a by the area of the non-working area obtained by the area obtaining unit 85 b.

The discharge control unit 86 performs control related to discharge of grains stored in the grain tank 17. Specifically, the discharge control unit 86 sets the discharge timing of grains based on the amount of grains stored in the grain tank 17 detected by the storage amount sensor 17 a. Then, based on the set discharge timing, a harvest-interruption position IP and a harvest-resumption position RP are set. When the combine harvester 1 is located at the discharge position PP, the discharge control unit 86 controls the discharge device 18 to discharge the grains stored in the grain tank 17.

For example, the discharge control unit 86 sets the discharge timing to "after the end of the currently executed automatic harvest travel" in response to the fact that the amount of grains stored in the grain tank 17 exceeds a predetermined threshold value. In this case, the discharge control unit 86 sets the end point of the harvesting travel path L currently traveling as the harvesting stop position IP, and sets the start point of the harvesting travel path L to be traveled next as the harvesting restart position RP.

For example, when the storage amount of the grain tank 17 at the time of harvesting the crop in the partial working area exceeds a predetermined storage amount (or when the possibility of the excess is high), the discharge control unit 86 sets the discharge timing to "after the automatic harvesting travel in the partial working area" is completed. In this case, the discharge control unit 86 sets the final end point of the final harvest travel path L in the partial working area as the harvest interrupt position IP, and sets the start point of the first harvest travel path L in the subsequent partial working area as the harvest restart position RP.

The discharge control unit 86 may set the discharge timing based on the position coordinates of the combine harvester 1 calculated by the vehicle position calculating unit 81, the travel route set by the travel control unit 84, the set discharge position PP, and the like. For example, the discharge control unit 86 may set the discharge timing to "after the end of the automatic harvesting travel performed next" when the end point of the harvesting travel path L currently traveling is far from the discharge position PP. In this case, the discharge control unit 86 sets the end point of the harvesting travel path L to be traveled next as the harvesting stop position IP, and sets the start point of the harvesting travel path L to be traveled next as the harvesting restart position RP.

For example, the discharge control unit 86 may set the discharge timing to "current" when the distance between the current position of the combine harvester 1 and the discharge position PP is smaller than the distance between the end point of the currently traveling harvesting travel path L and the discharge position PP. In this case, the discharge control unit 86 sets the harvest-interruption position IP and the harvest-resumption position RP to the current positions of the combine harvester 1.

The operator may be notified of the setting of the discharge timing by the discharge control unit 86 via the management terminal 21. The route calculation unit 83, the travel control unit 84, and the discharge control unit 86 may be configured to execute the discharge travel in response to a manual operation by an operator through an operation button (not shown) disposed in the driver unit 13 or the management terminal 21.

[ procedure for harvesting operation of combine harvester ]

The following describes a flow of harvesting work performed by the combine harvester 1 in the field shown in fig. 2.

First, the operator manually operates the combine harvester 1, and as shown in fig. 2, the harvesting travel (initial winding travel) is performed in a manner of winding along the boundary line of the field at the outer peripheral portion in the field. In the example of the figure, the combine harvester 1 performs a loop travel of 3 revolutions. When the initial circle-around travel is completed, the field is in the state shown in fig. 3.

The area calculation unit 82 calculates the travel locus of the combine harvester 1 during the initial round travel shown in fig. 2 based on the position coordinates of the combine harvester 1 with the passage of time calculated by the vehicle position calculation unit 81. Then, as shown in fig. 3, the area calculation unit 82 sets, as the outer peripheral area SA, an area on the outer peripheral side of the field where the combine harvester 1 travels around while harvesting the planted straw, based on the calculated travel locus of the combine harvester 1. The area calculation unit 82 sets an area inside the field from the calculated outer peripheral area SA as the work target area CA.

Next, the route calculation unit 83 calculates the harvesting travel route L in the work object area CA as shown in fig. 3 based on the calculation result of the area calculation unit 82. In the illustrated example, a plurality of harvesting travel paths L parallel to the short sides and a plurality of harvesting travel paths L parallel to the long sides of the work area CA are calculated. The harvesting travel path L parallel to the short side of the work target area CA is parallel to the row direction.

Then, the operator presses an automatic travel start button (not shown) to start automatic travel along the harvesting travel path L. In this example, first, automatic traveling by the α -turn round traveling mode is performed (fig. 3). The travel controller 84 sets the harvesting travel paths L01, L02, L03, and L04 located at the outermost periphery of the work area CA as travel paths. The route calculation unit 83 calculates the turning travel routes T01, T02, and T03 for the α -turn travel. The travel control unit 84 controls the travel device 11 to cause the combine harvester 1 to travel automatically in the order of the harvesting travel path L01, the turning travel path T01, the harvesting travel path L02, the turning travel path T02, the harvesting travel path L03, the turning travel path T03, and the harvesting travel path L04.

When the worked area on the outer circumferential side of the field is enlarged by the circle-like automatic harvesting travel in the α -turn circle travel mode to a state in which the automatic travel (fig. 4 to 6) by the U-turn circle travel mode is possible, the travel controller 84 switches the travel mode to the U-turn circle travel mode. Hereinafter, the area a1 (fig. 4) is defined as an area where no work is performed in the work area CA for performing automatic travel in the U-turn round travel mode.

The expected total yield obtaining section 85 obtains an expected total yield of grains expected to be available by harvesting the crop of the area a 1. First, the yield rate obtaining unit 85a obtains the yield rate in the harvesting travel of the outer circumferential area SA. Specifically, the yield rate obtaining unit 85a calculates the amount of grains obtained from the outer peripheral area SA based on the grain storage amount of the grain tank 17 detected by the storage amount sensor 17a, calculates the area of the outer peripheral area SA set by the area calculating unit 82, and calculates the yield rate in the outer peripheral area SA by dividing the amount of grains by the area. Next, the area obtaining unit 85b calculates the area of the region a1 based on the calculation result of the region calculating unit 82. Then, the expected total yield acquisition unit 85 multiplies the yield rate in the outer peripheral region SA calculated by the yield rate acquisition unit 85a by the area of the region a1 calculated by the area acquisition unit 85b to calculate the expected total yield of the region a 1.

The route calculation unit 83 compares the estimated total output of the area a1 acquired by the estimated total output acquisition unit 85 with a predetermined specific amount V1. In the following description, the specific amount V1 is an amount of 90% of the full amount of the grain box 17, and it is assumed that the predicted total yield of the region a1 is set to exceed the specific amount V1. The route calculation unit 83 sets a partial work area D1, which is a partial area of the area a1, as shown in fig. 4, in response to the estimated total output of the area a1 exceeding the specific amount V1. In the present embodiment, the route calculation unit 83 sets the east region of the regions generated by dividing the region a1 by a straight line NS1 parallel to the north-south direction (row direction) as the partial work region D1. Here, the route calculation unit 83 sets the partial working area D1 on the condition that the expected total yield of grains expected to be obtained by harvesting the crop in the partial working area D1 does not exceed the specific amount V1 and that the width W1 of the partial working area D1 in the east-west direction (direction orthogonal to the row direction) does not exceed a predetermined threshold width. Note that the predicted total yield of the partial working area D1 is calculated by the predicted total yield acquisition section 85 by multiplying the area of the partial working area D1 set by the path calculation section 83 by the yield in the outer peripheral area SA calculated by the yield acquisition section 85 a. Then, the route calculation unit 83 calculates the harvest travel routes L11 to L17 so as to be parallel to the north-south direction (row direction) inside the partial working area D1.

The travel controller 84 sets the harvesting travel paths L11 to L17 of the partial working area D1 as travel paths in this order. The route calculation unit 83 calculates the U-turn travel route T as a route connecting the end point and the start point of the harvest travel routes L11 to L17. Note that, in fig. 4, the illustration of the turning travel path T after the turning travel path T connecting the harvest travel path L13 and the harvest travel path L14 is omitted. The travel controller 84 controls the travel device 11 to cause the combine harvester 1 to automatically travel on the harvesting travel routes L11 to L17 so as to interpose the turning travel route T between the harvesting travel routes L11 to L17.

As shown in fig. 4, the travel locus of the combine harvester 1 is a locus where harvesting travel is alternately performed at the east-west end of the non-working area of the partial working area D1 while being wound in a spiral shape. That is, the travel control unit 84 sets the travel route as follows: the combine harvester 1 is caused to travel on the harvesting travel path L11 located at the east end (one end in the direction orthogonal to the row direction) in the partial working area D1, then immediately on the harvesting travel path L12 located at the west end (the other end in the direction intersecting the row direction) in the partial working area D1, then subsequently on the harvesting travel path L13 located at the east end in the non-working area of the partial working area D1, and then on the harvesting travel path L14 located at the west end in the non-working area of the partial working area D1.

The discharge controller 86 sets the discharge timing of grains based on the amount of grains stored in the grain box 17 detected by the storage amount sensor 17a while traveling on the final travel route (the harvest travel route L17) of the partial work area D1. In this example, it is assumed that the storage amount of the grain tank 17 when the crop in the partial working area D1 is harvested exceeds the predetermined storage amount V2 (for example, 95% of the full amount of the grain tank 17). The discharge control unit 86 sets the discharge timing to "after the end of the automatic harvesting travel in the partial working area D1", and sets the end point of the harvesting travel path L17 to the harvest interrupt position IP (fig. 5) as shown in fig. 5.

As shown in fig. 5, the route calculation unit 83 calculates a discharge travel route UL that links the harvest-interruption position IP set by the discharge control unit 86 and the discharge position PP. When the combine harvester 1 completes the automatic harvesting travel on the harvesting travel route L17, the travel control unit 84 controls the travel device 11 to automatically travel on the discharge travel route UL calculated by the route calculation unit 83. When the combine harvester 1 reaches the discharge position PP, the discharge control unit 86 controls the discharge device 18 to discharge the grain stored in the grain tank 17.

In response to the completion of the automatic harvesting travel of the partial working area D1, the area a2 (the area a1 where no work is performed, fig. 4 and 5) remaining after the partial working area D1 is removed from the area a1 is used as a target, the expected total output is obtained, it is determined whether or not the amount exceeds a specific amount V1, and the partial working area is set.

The expected total yield obtaining unit 85 obtains the expected total yield of the grain from the region a 2. Specifically, the predicted total yield acquisition unit 85 calculates the predicted total yield of the area a2 by multiplying the yield in the partial working area D1 calculated by the yield acquisition unit 85a by the area of the area a2 calculated by the area acquisition unit 85 b.

The route calculation unit 83 compares the predicted total yield of the area a2 acquired by the predicted total yield acquisition unit 85 with the specific amount V1, and sets a partial working area D2, which is a partial area of the area a2, as shown in fig. 5, in response to the fact that the predicted total yield of the area a2 exceeds the specific amount V1. In the present embodiment, the route calculation unit 83 sets the east region of the regions generated by dividing the region a2 by a straight line NS2 parallel to the north-south direction (row direction) as the partial work region D2. Here, as in the case of the partial working area D1, the path calculator 83 sets the partial working area D2 on the condition that the expected total yield of grains expected to be available by harvesting the crop in the partial working area D2 does not exceed the specific amount V1, and that the width W2 in the east-west direction (direction orthogonal to the row direction) of the partial working area D2 does not exceed a predetermined threshold width. Then, the route calculation unit 83 calculates the harvest travel routes L18 to L24 so as to be parallel to the north-south direction (row direction) inside the partial working area D2.

The travel controller 84 sets the harvesting travel paths L18 to L24 of the partial working area D2 as travel paths in this order. The discharge controller 86 sets the start point of the harvesting travel path L18, which is the first travel path of the partial working area D2, to the harvesting restart position RP. The route calculation unit 83 calculates a return travel route RL connecting the discharge position PP and the harvest resumption position RP. The route calculation unit 83 calculates the U-turn travel route T as a route connecting the end point and the start point of the harvest travel routes L18 to L24. Note that, in fig. 5, the illustration of the turning travel path T after the turning travel path T connecting the harvest travel path L20 and the harvest travel path L21 is omitted. The travel controller 84 controls the travel device 11 to automatically travel on the return travel route RL first, and then to automatically travel on the harvesting travel routes L18 to L24 with the turning travel route T interposed between the harvesting travel routes L18 to L24.

The discharge controller 86 sets the discharge timing of grains based on the amount of grains stored in the grain box 17 detected by the storage amount sensor 17a while traveling on the final travel route (the harvest travel route L24) of the partial work area D2. In this example, it is assumed that the storage amount of the grain tank 17 when the crop in the partial working area D2 is harvested does not exceed the predetermined storage amount V2. In this case, the discharge control unit 86 does not set the discharge timing at this timing. Then, in response to the completion of the automatic harvest travel of the partial working area D2, the area A3 (non-working area in the area a2, fig. 5 and 6) from which the partial working area D2 has been removed from the area a2 is used as a target, and the total expected output is acquired, and it is determined whether or not the specific amount V1 is exceeded.

The expected total yield obtaining unit 85 obtains the expected total yield of the grain from the region a 3. Specifically, the predicted total yield acquisition unit 85 multiplies the yield rate in the partial working area D2 calculated by the yield rate acquisition unit 85a by the area of the area A3 calculated by the area acquisition unit 85b to calculate the predicted total yield of the area A3. In the illustrated example of fig. 5, the region A3 is smaller in area compared to the regions a1, a2, and the predicted total yield of the region A3 does not exceed the specified amount V1. In this case, as shown in fig. 6, the route calculation unit 83 calculates the harvesting travel routes L25 to L31 inside the area a3 so as to be parallel to the north-south direction (row direction).

The travel controller 84 sets the harvesting travel routes L25 to L31 of the area a3 as travel routes in this order. The route calculation unit 83 calculates the U-turn travel route T as a route connecting the end point and the start point of the harvest travel routes L25 to L31. Note that, in fig. 6, the illustration of the turning travel path T after the turning travel path T connecting the harvest travel path L27 and the harvest travel path L28 is omitted. The travel controller 84 controls the travel device 11 to cause the combine harvester 1 to automatically travel on the harvesting travel routes L25 to L31 with the turning travel route T interposed between the harvesting travel routes L25 to L31.

It is assumed that the storage amount of the grain tank 17 exceeds the predetermined storage amount V2 in the middle of the automatic harvesting travel along the harvesting travel path L25. Based on the fact that the amount of grain stored in the grain tank 17 detected by the storage amount sensor 17a exceeds the predetermined storage amount V2, the discharge control unit 86 sets the discharge timing to "after the end of the automatic harvesting travel on the harvesting travel path L25", sets the end point of the harvesting travel path L25 to the harvesting stop position IP, and sets the start point of the harvesting travel path L26 to the harvesting restart position RP.

As shown in fig. 6, the path calculation unit 83 calculates a discharge travel path UL connecting the harvest interrupt position IP and the discharge position PP, and a recovery travel path RL connecting the discharge position PP and the harvest resume position RP. When the combine harvester 1 completes the automatic harvesting travel on the harvesting travel path L25, the travel control unit 84 controls the travel device 11 to automatically travel on the discharge travel path UL. When the combine harvester 1 reaches the discharge position PP, the discharge control unit 86 controls the discharge device 18 to discharge the grain stored in the grain tank 17. When the discharge of the grains is completed, the travel control unit 84 controls the travel device 11 to automatically travel on the return travel route RL. Then, the travel control unit 84 executes the automatic harvesting travel after the harvesting travel route L26.

In the example of fig. 5, after the completion of the automatic harvesting travel in the partial working area D1, the travel control unit 84 controls the travel device 11 to cause the combine harvester 1 to automatically travel along the discharge travel path UL to discharge the grain. Here, the control unit 80 is configured to: when the storage amount of the grain tank 17 is equal to or less than the predetermined storage amount when the crop in the partial working area is harvested, the travel route of the combine harvester 1 is created inside the next partial working area, and the automatic harvesting travel is performed in the next partial working area. In the example of fig. 7, after the automatic harvesting travel on the harvesting travel path L17 in the partial working area D1 is completed, the storage amount of the grain tank 17 detected by the storage amount sensor 17a is equal to or less than the predetermined storage amount V2, and the travel control unit 84 controls the travel device 11 to cause the combine harvester 1 to automatically travel along the turning travel path T, the harvesting travel path L18, the turning travel path T, and the harvesting travel path L19.

Then, during the automatic harvesting travel on the harvesting travel path L19, the amount of grain stored in the grain tank 17 detected by the storage amount sensor 17a exceeds the predetermined storage amount V2, and accordingly, the discharge control unit 86 sets the discharge timing to "after the automatic harvesting travel on the harvesting travel path L19 is completed", sets the end point of the harvesting travel path L19 to the harvesting interruption position IP, and sets the start point of the harvesting travel path L20 to the harvesting restart position RP. The route calculation unit 83 calculates the discharge travel route UL and the return travel route RL. When the combine harvester 1 completes the automatic harvesting travel on the harvesting travel path L19, the travel control unit 84 controls the travel device 11 to cause the combine harvester 1 to automatically travel along the discharge travel path UL. Grains are discharged at the discharge position PP, the harvester automatically travels along the return travel path RL, the automatic harvesting travel along the harvesting travel path L20 is started, and the harvesting operation in the partial working area D2 is started again.

Here, the fact that the storage amount of the grain tank 17 detected by the storage amount sensor 17a after the completion of the automatic harvesting travel on the harvesting travel route L17 in the partial working area D1 is equal to or less than the predetermined storage amount V2 means that the harvest yield of grains from the partial working area D1 is less than expected (the expected total yield calculated by the expected total yield acquisition unit 85). In the present embodiment, the route calculation unit 83 sets the next partial working area based on the actual yield of grains obtained by harvesting the crop in the partial working area. In the example of fig. 7, since the calculated yield rate of the partial working area D1 is smaller than that of the above embodiment, the area and width W2 of the next set partial working area D2 are larger than the partial working area D2 (fig. 5) of the above embodiment. Accordingly, the harvest travel paths L (the harvest travel paths L19 to L25) generated in the partial working area D2 in the example of fig. 7 are larger than the harvest travel paths L (the harvest travel paths L19 to L24) generated in the partial working area D2 in the example of fig. 5.

[ other embodiments ]

Although the above embodiment describes an example in which the expected total yield acquisition unit 85 acquires the expected total yield based on the yield rate acquired by the yield rate acquisition unit 85a and the area of the non-working area acquired by the area acquisition unit 85b, the expected total yield, the yield rate, and the area may be acquired by other methods. For example, actual performance values obtained in the past harvest of the same field and estimated values from actual performance values of similar fields may be obtained and used as the total yield, yield rate, and area of the non-working area to be predicted. Further, the acquisition of the total yield, the yield rate, and the area may be performed by downloading from a data server or another combine via the communication unit 23, or may be performed by an operation input from the management terminal 21.

In the above embodiment, the partial working range is set in accordance with the case where the total expected yield exceeds the specific amount V1, but the partial working range may be set even if the total expected yield does not exceed the specific amount V1. For example, the partial working area may be set based on a case where the width in the east-west direction (direction orthogonal to the row direction) of the non-working area (the working area CA, the area a1, the area a2, or the like) exceeds a predetermined threshold width.

The yield rate to be referred to when setting the partial working area is the yield rate calculated for the latest harvesting travel in the above embodiment, but is not limited to this. For example, the output rate calculated for the initial circle driving may be always referred to. In addition, the average value of the yield rates calculated for a plurality of areas may be referred to when setting the partial working area.

Although the above embodiment describes an example in which two partial working areas (partial working areas D1 and D2) are set, the number of partial working areas is not limited to this, and may be one or three or more.

In the above embodiment, each time harvesting is completed for one partial working area, the next partial working area is set. After the automatic travel by the α -turn range travel mode is completed, when the automatic travel by the U-turn range travel mode is started in the non-working place (the area a1), a plurality of partial working areas may be set at once for the entire non-working place (the area a 1).

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the discharge control unit 86 sets the discharge timing and executes the discharge travel has been described. The discharge travel may be performed based on an operation input from an operator. For example, the control unit 80 may be configured to: in response to the storage amount of the grain tank 17 exceeding a predetermined threshold value, the discharge control unit 86 turns on a push switch (not shown) provided in the driver unit 13, and executes the discharge travel in response to the operator pressing the push switch.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the field contour and the work target area CA are rectangular has been described. The field shape is not limited to a rectangle, and may be a polygon such as a triangle or a pentagon, and a part or all of the outer peripheral shape may be a curve. The work target area CA is preferably rectangular in view of work efficiency, but may be polygonal such as triangular or pentagonal, and a part or all of the outer peripheral shape thereof may be curved.

Although the above-described embodiment describes an example in which the harvesting travel path L is a straight line, a part or all of the harvesting travel path L may be a curved line.

Industrial applicability

The invention can be applied to various harvesters such as a semi-feeding type combine harvester and a full-feeding type combine harvester.

< embodiment 2>

An example of an automatic travel route generation system for generating an automatic travel route of a harvester that harvests crops in a field will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that in the following description, the direction of arrow F is referred to as "front side of the body", and the direction of arrow B is referred to as "rear side of the body". When the left and right are indicated, the right hand side in the state of facing the front side of the body is referred to as "right", and the left hand side is referred to as "left". The upper side in the vertical direction with the machine body placed on the ground is referred to as "upper", and the lower side in the vertical direction is referred to as "lower".

[ integral structure of combine harvester ]

A semi-feeding type combine as an example of the harvester is shown in fig. 9. The combine harvester 1 includes a machine body 10 and a crawler type traveling device 11. A harvesting part 12 for harvesting the planted vertical grain stalks of the field is arranged at the front part of the machine body 10.

A grain tank 17 (an example of a "grain storage unit") for storing grains obtained by the threshing device 15 is provided behind the driving unit 13 and to the right of the threshing device 15. The grain tank 17 is provided with a storage amount sensor 17a (see fig. 13) for detecting the amount of grains stored in the grain tank 17.

The driver unit 13 is provided with a management terminal 22 (see fig. 13). The management terminal 22 is configured to be capable of displaying various information. The management terminal 22 may be configured to be capable of receiving input operations of various settings (setting of a priority travel mode, etc.) related to automatic travel of the combine harvester 1.

A communication unit 23 (see fig. 13) is provided to be connectable to an external communication network. The communication unit 23 is configured to be able to communicate with an external server or the like through the communication network.

[ harvesting operation of combine harvester ]

The harvesting operation of the half-feed type combine harvester 1 in the field will be described with reference to fig. 10 to 12. In the present embodiment, an example in which the field is rectangular will be described as shown in fig. 10.

First, as shown in fig. 10, harvesting travel (initial winding travel) is performed in a region on the outer circumferential side of the field so as to wind along the boundary line of the field. An area where work has been performed by the initial circle-around travel is set as the outer peripheral area SA, and a non-work area inside the outer peripheral area SA is set as the work target area CA (see fig. 11).

When harvesting the standing straw in the working object area CA by the automatic travel, the outer peripheral area SA is used as a space for the combine harvester 1 to change its direction (turning travel described later). The outer peripheral area SA is also used as a space for movement to a grain discharge place and a refueling place.

In order to secure the width of the outer peripheral area SA to a certain extent, the initial winding travel is performed for about 2 to 4 weeks. In the present embodiment, the initial circle-around travel is performed by the automatic travel.

Immediately after the initial circling travel, the standing straw of the work target area CA is harvested by automatic travel. Note that in the present embodiment, automatic travel while harvesting standing straws in a field is referred to as "automatic harvesting travel", and automatic travel including turning performed between one automatic harvesting travel and the next automatic harvesting travel is referred to as "turning travel".

The automatic harvesting travel and the turning travel in the work target area CA are performed in accordance with a predetermined travel pattern. As the running mode, an α -turn round running mode shown in fig. 11 and a U-turn round running mode shown in fig. 12 are exemplified.

The α -turn round travel mode is a travel mode in which the vehicle travels sequentially on a travel path parallel to the four sides of the rectangular work target area CA and turns by α -turn travel. The α -turn running is performed by forward running, reverse running including the turn running, and forward running. The automatic travel based on the α -turn circle travel pattern is a vortex-like travel as shown in fig. 11.

The U-turn round travel mode is a travel mode in which the vehicle travels on a travel path parallel to two opposite sides of the rectangular work target area CA alternately from the outside in order and turns by U-turn travel. The U-turn running is performed only by the forward running including the turn running. As shown in fig. 12, the automatic traveling by the U-turn round traveling mode is a spiral traveling as in the α -turn round traveling mode. In the present embodiment, the travel path traveled in the U-turn round travel mode is set to a path parallel to both sides of the work target area CA in the row direction.

[ control-related Structure ]

As shown in fig. 13, the control unit 80 of the combine harvester 1 includes a vehicle position calculating unit 81, a field shape acquiring unit 82, an area calculating unit 83, an information acquiring unit 84, a route calculating unit 85 (an example of a "corner travel route generating unit"), and a travel control unit 86.

The field shape acquiring unit 82 acquires the shape of the field to be harvested. In particular, the field shape acquiring unit 82 acquires the shape of the corner of the field. Specifically, the field shape acquiring unit 82 acquires the shape of the edge forming the corner of the field.

The shape of the field may be acquired by the field shape acquisition unit 82 through communication with the external server via the communication unit 23, the shape of the field may be acquired by the field shape acquisition unit 82 through an input operation of an operator to the management terminal 22, the shape of the field may be acquired by the field shape acquisition unit 82 through transmission of data from a USB memory or the like, or the shape of the field may be acquired by the field shape acquisition unit 82 by imaging the field with a camera mounted on the machine body 10 or a camera mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle (wireless aerial vehicle).

The area calculation unit 83 calculates the outer peripheral area SA and the work area CA based on the position coordinates of the combine harvester 1 over time calculated by the vehicle position calculation unit 81. More specifically, the area calculator 83 calculates the travel locus of the combine harvester 1 in the circle travel (initial circle travel) on the outer peripheral side of the field based on the position coordinates of the combine harvester 1 with the passage of time calculated by the vehicle position calculator 81. Then, the area calculation unit 83 sets, as the outer circumference area SA, an area on the outer circumference side of the field through which the combine harvester 1 travels while harvesting the standing straw, based on the calculated travel locus of the combine harvester 1. The area calculation unit 83 sets an area inside the field from the calculated outer peripheral area SA as the work target area CA.

For example, in fig. 10, a path along which the combine harvester 1 travels during circle traveling (initial circle traveling) on the outer peripheral side of the field is shown by an arrow. In the example of the figure, the combine harvester 1 performs a loop travel of 3 revolutions. When the initial circle-around travel is completed, the field is in the state shown in fig. 11.

As shown in fig. 11, the area calculation unit 83 calculates an area on the outer peripheral side of the field where the combine harvester 1 travels while planting the grain stalks as an outer peripheral area SA, and calculates an area inside the field from the calculated outer peripheral area SA as a work target area CA.

The information acquiring unit 84 acquires information used by the route calculating unit 85 to generate a corner travel route (described later). Specifically, the information acquiring unit 84 acquires the harvesting width of the combine harvester 1, the turning radius of the combine harvester 1, the storage amount of grain stored in the grain tank 17 of the combine harvester 1, and the state of the field in which harvesting work is performed. For example, the information acquiring unit 84 acquires the harvesting width and the turning radius of the combine harvester 1 from a memory (not shown) in which the specifications of the combine harvester 1 are stored. The information acquiring unit 84 acquires the storage amount of grains stored in the grain box 17 from the storage amount sensor 17a of the grain box 17. The information acquisition unit 84 communicates with the external server via the communication unit 23 to acquire information indicating the state of the field in which harvesting work is performed. The state of the field includes, for example, a dry state (wet field or not), hardness, soil property, and the like of the field.

The route calculation unit 85 calculates (generates) a travel route for the combine harvester 1 to automatically travel. Specifically, the route calculation unit 85 calculates an initial travel route FL for performing initial round trip travel (fig. 10) in the area on the outer peripheral side of the field, an α -shaped travel route AL for performing automatic travel (fig. 11) in the α -turn round travel mode in the work target area CA, and a U-shaped travel route UL for performing automatic travel (fig. 12) in the U-turn round travel mode in the work target area CA. The following description will be specifically made.

The route calculation unit 85 generates the initial travel route FL based on the shape of the field acquired by the field shape acquisition unit 82. As shown in fig. 10, the initial travel path FL for initial round travel calculated by the path calculation unit 85 is a path of a round in a spiral shape along a boundary line of a field, and the outermost path includes a corner travel path CL that is a path for performing automatic harvest travel at a corner of the field. The route calculation unit 85 calculates the corner travel route CL based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 84, that is, the harvesting width of the combine harvester 1, the turning radius of the combine harvester 1, the storage amount of grains stored in the grain tank 17 of the combine harvester 1, and the state of the field in which harvesting work is performed. The corner travel path CL calculated by the path calculation unit 85 will be described in detail later.

The route calculation unit 85 calculates the α -shaped travel route AL and the U-shaped travel route UL on the inner side of the work area CA based on the calculation result of the area calculation unit 83. In the present embodiment, the α -shaped travel path AL and the U-shaped travel path UL include a grid-shaped straight path extending parallel to the four sides of the work target area CA and a curved path connecting the two straight paths.

The travel control unit 86 is configured to be able to control the travel device 11 and the harvesting unit 12. The travel control unit 86 controls the automatic travel of the combine harvester 1 based on the position coordinates of the combine harvester 1 calculated by the vehicle position calculating unit 81 and the initial travel route FL, the α -shaped travel route AL, and the α -shaped travel route AL calculated by the route calculating unit 85. Specifically, the travel control unit 86 sets the next travel route in order from among the routes calculated by the area calculation unit 83, and controls the travel device 11 of the combine harvester 1 so that the combine harvester 1 travels along the set travel route.

[ corner travel path ]

As shown in fig. 14, the corner travel path CL calculated by the path calculation unit 85 includes a first path R1, a second path R2, a third path R3, a fourth path R4, and a fifth path R5. In the following description, one of the sides forming the corner is a side L1, and the other side is a side L2.

The first path R1 is a path that proceeds as the crop is harvested along edge L1. In the present embodiment, the first path R1 is a path that advances to abut against the side L2. The second path R2 is a path receding along the first path R1. The combine harvester 1 performs automatic harvesting travel on the first path R1, so that the standing straw in the area a1 through which the combine harvester 1 passes is harvested to become a harvested land.

The third path R3 is a path that advances while harvesting the crop in a direction intersecting the first path R1 with the unworked NY left between the third path R8932 and the first path R1. In the present embodiment, the third path R3 is a path that first travels along the side L1, turns while traveling from the point P3 in a direction away from the side L1, and travels in a direction intersecting the side L1 and the side L2 to abut against the side L2. The radius of the turn in the third path R3 is larger than the radius of the turn in the fifth path R5 (turning radius RA 1). Preferably, the radius of the turn in the third path R3 is large enough not to overwhelm or crush the crop on the inside of the turn. The fourth path R4 is a path receding along the third path R3.

The combine harvester 1 performs automatic harvesting travel on the third route R3, so that the standing straw in the area A3 through which the combine harvester 1 passes is harvested to become a harvested land. Then, the region surrounded by the region a1, the region A3, and the side L2 is left as an unprocessed NY. IN the present embodiment, the third route R3 is calculated by the route calculation unit 85 so that the area inside the field, which is the area a5 of the harvested area by the automatic harvesting travel of the fifth route R5, particularly the inner area IN of the arc portion of the area a5 becomes the worked area by the automatic harvesting travel of the third route R3.

The fifth path R5 is a path that advances while harvesting a crop of the no-work NY between the first path R1 and the third path R3, and is a path that travels in a direction between the first path R1 and the third path R3, turns, and reaches a state of traveling along the side L2 forming a corner. In the present embodiment, the third path R3 is a path that first travels along the side L1, turns while traveling from the point P3 in a direction away from the side L1, and then travels along the side L2.

The point P5 of the fifth path R5 at which the turn starts is closer to the side L2 than the point P3 of the third path R3 at which the turn starts. In addition, the radius of the turn in the fifth path R5 (turning radius RA1) is smaller than the radius of the turn in the third path R3. That is, when the automatic harvesting travel is performed on the fifth path R5, the combine harvester 1 makes a turn with a turning radius RA1 smaller than the turn in the third path R3 after being closer to the side L2 than the point P3.

The combine harvester 1 performs automatic harvesting travel on the fifth route R5, so that the standing straw in the area a5 through which the combine harvester 1 passes is harvested to become a harvested land. Namely, the standing grain stalks in the region overlapping with the region a5 in the non-worked region NY were harvested. Therefore, in the non-working area NY, there is a crop that cannot be harvested by the automatic harvesting travel of the fifth route R5.

Consider a case where the corner travel path CL does not include the third path R3 and the fourth path R4. In this case, when the combine harvester 1 performs the automatic harvesting travel on the fifth route R5, the combine harvester 1 also enters a state of traveling along the side L2, and the initial circling travel can be continued. However, if the combine harvester 1 starts turning at the point P5 while traveling on the fifth route R5, the left side of the body of the combine harvester 1 in the left-right direction is uncut and the turning radius RA1 is small, and therefore, the standing grain stalks on the left side of the combine harvester 1 may be crushed or the traveling device 11 may crush the standing grain stalks. Although it is conceivable to increase the turning radius RA1 in order to suppress lodging and rolling of the planted grain stalks, it is necessary to make the turning starting point P5 far from the side L2 and the uncurved area between the side L2 becomes extremely large, and thus it is not practical.

Since the corner travel route CL of the present embodiment includes the third route R3 that is traveled before the fifth route R5, the area inside the field of the area a5 that becomes the harvested area by the automatic harvesting travel of the fifth route R5, particularly the inside area IN of the arc portion of the area a5, is already the harvested area. This can suppress the lodging and rolling of the standing straw caused when the vehicle turns around at the turning radius RA1 during the automatic harvesting travel along the fifth route R5.

The path calculation unit 85 generates a corner travel path CL based on the harvesting width W (fig. 14) of the combine harvester 1. Specifically, the route calculation unit 85 determines the distances between the first to fifth routes R1 to R5 and the ends of the field (the side L1 and the side L2) based on the harvesting width W. The position of the region (inner region IN) inside the field, which is the region a5 of the harvested area by the automatic harvesting travel of the fifth route R5, and the like vary according to the harvesting width W. The route calculation unit 85 calculates the third route R3 so that the inner region IN whose position and the like are changed according to the harvesting width W passes through the automatic harvesting travel of the third route R3 to be the worked place. For example, when the harvesting width W is larger than the example of fig. 14, the first path R1 and the second path R2 calculated by the path calculating unit 85 move downward in the drawing. The fifth path R5 moves to the lower right in the figure. With the movement of the fifth path R5, the third path R3 moves to the lower right in the figure.

The route calculation unit 85 generates the corner travel route CL, particularly the third route R3 to the fifth route R5, based on the turning radius of the combine harvester 1. Here, the turning radius of the combine harvester 1, particularly the turning radius in the case of turning while advancing by automatic travel as in the fifth route R5, is set to a predetermined value in terms of specifications. However, when the amount of grain stored in the grain tank 17 is large, the total weight of the combine harvester 1 becomes large. In this case, if the grain is turned at the same turning radius as that in the case where the amount of grain is small, there is a possibility that large unevenness is formed in the field, and therefore it is preferable to increase the turning radius. Further, in the case of a lot of moisture in the field or in the case of loose and soft fields, rutting is likely to occur, and therefore it is preferable to increase the turning radius. In the present embodiment, the route calculation unit 85 specifies the turning radius of the fifth route R5 based on the turning radius of the combine harvester 1 (the turning radius determined by the specifications) acquired by the information acquisition unit 84, the storage amount of grains in the grain tank 17, and the state of the field in which the harvesting work is performed, and generates the third route R3 to the fifth route R5 based on the specified turning radius.

The corner travel path CL generated based on the turning radius RA2 larger than the turning radius RA1 of the fifth path R5 of fig. 14 is shown in fig. 15. The point P5 in the example of the figure (the point at which the turn starts in the fifth path R5) is at a greater distance from the side L2 than in the example of fig. 14. The turning radius RA2 of the fifth path R5 is greater than the turning radius RA1 of the fifth path R5 of fig. 14. Accordingly, the position of the inner area IN of the arc portion of the area a5 is shifted to the lower right IN the drawing as compared with the case of fig. 14, and the third path R3 is shifted to the lower right IN the drawing as compared with the case of fig. 14.

[ other embodiments ]

Although the above-described embodiment describes an example in which the route calculation unit 85 calculates the initial travel route FL and performs the entire initial round travel by the automatic harvesting travel, a part of the initial round travel may be performed by the manual travel.

The information acquisition unit 84 is not limited to the example shown in the above embodiment. For example, the information acquiring unit 84 may acquire the harvesting width and the turning radius of the combine harvester 1 from an external server or the like through the communication unit 23, or may acquire the harvesting width and the turning radius based on an operation input by an operator through an operation input unit (for example, the management terminal 22). The information acquisition unit 84 may acquire the state of the field from a camera, a sensor, or the like provided in the combine harvester 1.

In the above-described embodiment, the radius of the curve in the fifth route R5 is determined by the route calculation unit 85 based on the curve radius of the combine harvester 1 (the curve radius determined by the specifications), the storage amount of the grains in the grain tank 17, and the state of the field in which the harvesting work is performed, but may be determined based on an operation input by the operator through the operation input unit (for example, the management terminal 22).

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the field is rectangular and the corners are formed by two orthogonal sides has been described, but the shapes of the field and the corners are not limited to this. For example, the field may be a polygon, and a part or all of the edges of the field may be a curve. The corners of the field may be formed by three or more sides, and the angle at which two sides intersect may be an acute angle or an obtuse angle. A part or all of the edges forming the corner portion may be curved. In this case, for example, the corner portion travel path can be calculated by approximating the curve with a plurality of straight lines.

In the above embodiment, in addition, the crops of the non-working ground NY between the first route R1 and the third route R3 are harvested by the automatic harvesting travel of the fifth route R5, but it is not necessary to harvest all the crops, but the presence of the remaining crops that are not harvested (i.e., the presence of the non-working ground) is allowed. Further, the inside of the turning locus in the fifth route R5 becomes the worked place by the automatic harvesting travel of the third route R3, but not all the regions of the inside of the turning locus in the fifth route R5 need to be the worked places.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the corner travel path CL includes the first path R1 to the fifth path R5 has been described. A set of third paths R3 and fourth paths R4 may also be included.

The corner travel path may not include the first path R1 and the second path R2. For example, the route calculation unit 85 may include the following in the corner travel route calculated by the route calculation unit 85:

a forward path (corresponding to the third path R3) which is a path that advances while harvesting a crop in a direction intersecting one of the sides forming the corner portion, with an unworked area left between the one side and the forward path;

a backward path (corresponding to a fourth path R4) that is a path backward along the forward path;

a turning path (corresponding to the fifth path R5) which is a path that advances while harvesting the crop in the non-working area between the one side and the advancing path, and which turns while advancing in the direction between the one side and the advancing path to reach a state of advancing along the other side among the sides forming the corner portion.

According to the present embodiment, a large non-working land remains at the corner of the field, but the corner can be quickly turned, and the automatic harvesting travel at the corner of the field can be made efficient.

Industrial applicability

< embodiment 3>

Embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. Note that, in the following description, unless otherwise specified, the direction of arrow F shown in fig. 16 is referred to as "front" and the direction of arrow B is referred to as "rear".

[ integral structure of combine harvester ]

As shown in fig. 16, a half-feed type combine harvester 1 is an embodiment of a combine harvester to which the automatic travel control system of the present invention can be applied, and the half-feed type combine harvester 1 includes a pair of left and right crawler

type travel devices

11 and 11, a steering unit 12, a threshing device 13, a grain tank 14, a harvesting unit H, a grain discharge device 18, and a satellite positioning module 80.

The travel device 11 is provided at a lower portion of the combine harvester 1. The traveling device 11 is driven by power from an engine (not shown). Moreover, the combine harvester 1 can be self-propelled by the traveling device 11.

The left and right elevating

devices

29, 29 are provided in the left and right traveling devices 11, respectively. The lifting device 29 is also referred to as "single", and can change the height position of the body with respect to each of the left and right traveling

devices

11, 11. Therefore, the

lifting devices

29, 29 can change the height position of the body with respect to the left and right traveling devices 11, respectively, to roll the body. In the present embodiment, the "cutting inclination changing mechanism" of the present invention is configured by the elevating device 29.

The driving unit 12, the threshing device 13, and the grain tank 14 are provided above the traveling device 11. An operator who monitors the work of the combine harvester 1 can ride on the cab 12. Note that the operator may also monitor the operation of the combine harvester 1 from outside the body of the combine harvester 1.

A grain discharge device 18 is connected to the grain tank 14. In addition, the satellite positioning module 80 is mounted on the ceiling of the cab covering the cab portion 12.

The harvesting part H is provided in the front part of the body of the combine harvester 1 to harvest crops in the field, specifically, the planted grain stalks. The cutting section H includes a pusher-type cutting device 15 and a conveying device 16. Note that the present embodiment includes a 6-row harvesting type harvesting unit H.

The cutting device 15 cuts the roots of the crops in the field. Then, the conveying device 16 conveys the grain stalks cut by the cutting device 15 to the rear side. With this configuration, the harvesting portion H harvests the crop in the field. The combine harvester 1 can perform harvesting travel in which the travel device 11 travels while harvesting crops in a field by the harvesting unit H.

The grain and straw conveyed by the conveyor 16 is threshed in the threshing device 13. Grains obtained by the threshing process are stored in a grain tank 14. The grains stored in the grain tank 14 are discharged to the outside of the machine body by the grain discharging device 18 as needed.

The communication terminal 4 is disposed in the driver unit 12 (see fig. 17). The communication terminal 4 can display various information. In the present embodiment, the communication terminal 4 is fixed to the driver unit 12. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the communication terminal 4 may be detachable from the cab 12, and the communication terminal 4 may be located outside the body of the combine harvester 1.

Here, as shown in fig. 18 to 21, the combine harvester 1 performs a circling travel while harvesting grains in the outer peripheral area SA in the field, and then performs a harvesting travel in the inner area CA, thereby harvesting grains in the field.

In addition, a main shift lever 19 (see fig. 17) is provided in the steering unit 12. The main gear lever 19 can be operated manually. When the operator operates the main shift lever 19 when the combine harvester 1 is manually driven, the vehicle speed of the combine harvester 1 changes. That is, when the combine harvester 1 is manually steered, the operator can change the vehicle speed of the combine harvester 1 by operating the main shift lever 19.

Note that the operator can change the rotational speed of the engine by operating the communication terminal 4.

The appropriate operation speed varies depending on the state of the crop. If the operator operates the communication terminal 4 to set the rotational speed of the engine to an appropriate rotational speed, the operator can perform work at a work speed appropriate for the state of the crop.

[ Structure relating to control section ]

The combine harvester 1 cuts crops while traveling around an outer peripheral area SA (see fig. 18 and the like) of a field, and then cuts crops while traveling back and forth in an inner area CA (see fig. 21 and the like) inside the outer peripheral area SA. Fig. 17 shows the control modules in relation to the automatic travel control system for the combine harvester 1.

The control system of the combine harvester 1 in the present embodiment is configured by a wiring network such as a plurality of electronic control units called ECUs, various operating devices, a sensor group, a switch group, and an on-vehicle LAN for transmitting data therebetween. The combine harvester 1 includes a control unit 20, and the control unit 20 constitutes a part of the control system. The control unit 20 includes a vehicle position calculating unit 21, a field data acquiring unit 22, a travel route setting unit 23, an automatic travel control unit 24, a tilt control unit 25, a crop area determining unit 27, a vehicle speed setting unit 31, a harvest height setting unit 32, and the like.

The satellite positioning module 80 receives a positioning signal from a navigation satellite used in a GPS (global positioning system). The satellite positioning module 80 transmits positioning data indicating the position of the vehicle of the combine harvester 1 to the vehicle position calculating unit 21 based on the received positioning signal.

The vehicle position calculating unit 21 calculates the position coordinates of the combine harvester 1 over time based on the positioning data output from the satellite positioning module 80. Note that the position coordinates of the combine harvester 1 represent the position of the body of the combine harvester 1. The calculated position coordinates of the combine harvester 1 with the passage of time are transmitted to the travel route setting unit 23, the automatic travel control unit 24, and the work condition detection unit 26.

The travel path calculation unit 21A calculates the travel path of the combine harvester 1 during travel around the outer peripheral side of the field based on the position coordinates of the combine harvester 1 over time. The calculated travel locus is transmitted to the travel route setting unit 23, the automatic travel control unit 24, and the work condition detection unit 26.

The vehicle speed detection unit 21B calculates a variation amount of the position coordinates per unit time based on the position coordinates of the combine harvester 1 over time, and detects the vehicle speed of the combine harvester 1 from the variation amount. The vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detection unit 21B is sent to the automatic travel control unit 24 and the inclination control unit 25.

The field data acquisition unit 22 acquires field shape data, crop planting information, and the like from the management computer 5 via the communication unit 30. These field shape data, crop planting information, and the like are transmitted from the field data acquisition unit 22 to the travel route setting unit 23.

The field data acquisition unit 22 includes a row information acquisition unit 22A. The row information acquisition unit 22A acquires row information (for example, row direction, row position, row interval, and the like) relating to the row of the crop based on the field shape data, crop planting information, and the like. The line information is transmitted from the line information acquisition unit 22A to the work area determination unit 27. The crop area determination unit 27 will be described in detail later.

For example, as shown in fig. 18 to 20, the combine harvester 1 first performs the mowing travel while performing the spiral circling travel in the outer peripheral area SA. Thereafter, as shown in fig. 21, the combine harvester 1 repeats the mowing travel, which is the travel for mowing while traveling along the parallel travel path LS in the inner area CA on the inner side of the outer peripheral area SA, and the direction change, which is performed by the U-turn in the outer peripheral area SA. In this way, the combine harvester 1 cuts the crop so as to cover the entire outer peripheral area SA and the inner side area CA. In the present embodiment, the travel in which the cutting travel with the forward movement and the direction change are repeated is referred to as "reciprocating travel".

In fig. 18 to 20, the travel path for the combine harvester 1 to perform the circle travel on the outer peripheral side in the field is shown by an arrow. In the example shown in fig. 18 to 20, the combine harvester 1 performs a circle travel of 3 revolutions. When the cutting travel along the travel route is completed, the field is in the state shown in fig. 21.

The working condition detection unit 26 detects a harvested region in which working travel has been completed and an unharvested region in which work has not been completed in the field, based on the position information of the combine harvester 1 calculated by the vehicle position calculation unit 21 and the travel locus of the combine harvester 1 calculated by the travel locus calculation unit 21A.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 18 to 20, the working condition detection unit 26 detects the areas on the outer peripheral side of the field where the combine harvester 1 travels around while cutting crops as harvested areas SA1, SA2, and SA 3. The working condition detection unit 26 detects a region inside the field from the detected harvested regions SA1, SA2, and SA3 as an uncurved region. Then, as shown in fig. 17, the detection result of the working condition detection unit 26 is sent to the work area determination unit 27.

The vehicle speed setting unit 31 sets a driving speed of the traveling device 11, that is, a vehicle speed, based on the operation amount of the main shift lever 19. The set vehicle speed is transmitted from the vehicle speed setting unit 31 to the automatic travel control unit 24.

The travel route setting unit 23 receives the field shape and the row information from the field data acquisition unit 22, and sets a travel route for automatic travel. The travel route setting unit 23 divides the outer peripheral area SA and the inner area CA based on the field shape data, and sets a circle-around travel route, which is a route for cutting a crop while traveling around the outer peripheral area SA, and a parallel travel route LS, which is a route for cutting a crop while traveling back and forth in the inner area CA. Note that, in the case of collectively referring to the circle travel path and the parallel travel path LS, it is simply referred to as "travel path".

The travel path setting unit 23 includes a circle travel path setting unit 23A and a parallel travel path setting unit 23B. The circle travel path setting unit 23A can set a circle travel path for automatic travel in the outer peripheral area SA. The parallel travel route setting unit 23B can set a plurality of parallel travel routes LS parallel to each other in the inner area CA. The plurality of parallel travel paths LS are paths for automatic travel that perform reciprocating travel in the inner area CA.

The travel route setting unit 23 can receive the travel route data of the combine harvester 1 calculated by the travel route calculation unit 21A, and can change the circle travel route and the parallel travel route LS based on the travel route data.

The automatic travel control unit 24 can control the travel device 11. The automatic travel control unit 24 automatically travels the combine harvester 1 along the round travel path and the plurality of parallel travel paths LS based on the position coordinates of the combine harvester 1 received from the vehicle position calculation unit 21, the travel path received from the travel path setting unit 23, and the set vehicle speed received from the vehicle speed setting unit 31. More specifically, as shown in fig. 19 to 21, the automatic travel control unit 24 controls the travel of the combine harvester 1 to: the cutting travel is performed by automatic travel along the travel path. That is, the combine harvester 1 can travel automatically.

If there are non-harvested regions on the left and right sides in front of the combine harvester 1 in the direction of travel and harvested regions on the other left and right sides in front of the combine harvester 1 in the direction of travel, the crop enters the harvesting section H while being offset to the left and right sides with respect to the harvesting section H. The crop area determination unit 27 determines which area of the cutting unit H the crop is entering in the left-right direction based on the detection result of the work condition detection unit 26. In this way, the crop area determination unit 27 can determine the state in which the crop enters the cutting section H while being shifted to the left and right with respect to the cutting section H. In the present embodiment, the state in which the crop is moved into the harvesting portion H while being biased to the left and right is referred to as a "biased state". That is, when the working condition detection unit 26 detects that there are a harvested region and an unharvested region in the forward direction of travel, the crop region determination unit 27 determines that the state is biased. The determination result of the work area determination unit 27 is sent to the tilt control unit 25.

The inclination control unit 25 controls the elevation device 29 based on the harvesting height set by the harvesting height setting unit 32. The harvesting height of the harvesting unit H is set by the harvesting height setting unit 32 based on manual operation of the setting operation tool 33. The tilt control unit 25 can cause the lifting device 29 to change the height position of the main body of the machine body based on the determination result of the crop area determination unit 27, which will be described in detail later.

[ regarding the winding travel path ]

Fig. 18 to 21 show a field formed in a trapezoidal shape, and circle travel paths L1 to L8 are shown as an example of a circle travel path for automatic travel for performing circle travel in the outer peripheral region SA. An outer peripheral area SA is set outside the rectangular outer peripheral shape S0, i.e., at the outer peripheral portion of the field. The inner area CA is set inside the outer peripheral shape S0, i.e., inside the outer peripheral area SA. In the field shown in fig. 18 to 21, the row direction of the crop in the inner region CA is along the top-bottom direction of the paper. In other words, the left and right longitudinal sides of the outer peripheral shape S0 are along the row direction of the crop. The line information acquired by the line information acquiring unit 22A includes the line direction.

As shown in fig. 18, the combine harvester 1 performs a harvesting travel along the ridge of the field, and the harvesting travel is a travel for harvesting the crop in the field while performing a circle travel. The cutting travel at this time is performed by manual travel. When the combine harvester 1 completes the mowing travel of one round, the harvested area SA1 is formed as a mowing trajectory of the round travel of the combine harvester 1 in the outer peripheral area SA, and the outer peripheral shape S1 of the non-harvested area is formed at a position inside the field with respect to the harvested area SA 1.

Note that, in order to ensure the width of the outer peripheral area SA with a certain degree of widening, the operator may manually operate the combine harvester 1 for two or three weeks. In this case, the width of the harvested area SA1 is about 2 to 3 times the working width of the combine harvester.

The dashed line inside the outer peripheral shape S1 indicates the outer peripheral shape S0 of the inner area CA, and the outer peripheral area SA and the inner area CA are defined in advance by the travel route setting unit 23 (see fig. 17).

In the outer peripheral shape S1 of the uncut region, two sides extending in the vertical direction of the drawing are inclined so as to be positioned more toward the left and right center sides of the drawing as going to the upper side of the drawing, and two sides extending in the lateral direction of the drawing are parallel to each other. That is, the outer peripheral shape S1 of the uncurved area is formed in a trapezoidal shape.

The circle travel path setting unit 23A sets the circle travel path such that, of the sides of the outer peripheral shape S0 constituting the inner region CA, the side located on the left and right outer sides with respect to the parallel travel path LS is along the row direction. The side located on the left and right outer sides with respect to the parallel travel path LS means at least one of the left and right vertical sides extending in the up-down direction of the drawing sheet in fig. 18 to 21. As shown in fig. 18, the left and right longitudinal sides of the outer peripheral shape S1 of the uncut region do not extend in the row direction, and are not parallel to the left and right longitudinal sides of the outer peripheral shape S0 of the inner region CA that extend in the vertical direction of the drawing. Therefore, the circle travel path setting unit 23A can set the circle travel paths L1 to L8 to: when the combine harvester 1 travels around, the ratio of the crop entering the harvesting portion H while being deviated to the left and right sides with respect to the harvesting portion H increases or decreases as the combine harvester 1 advances.

In fig. 19, the crop located further inside than the harvested area SA1 is harvested by the circle-around travel. The circle travel at this time is performed by the automatic travel, and the circle travel paths L1 to L4 for the automatic travel are set by the circle travel path setting unit 23A.

The circle travel path L1 is an automatic travel path for performing cutting travel at the right vertical side portion of the paper surface in the outer peripheral shape S1 of the harvested region SA 1. The circle travel path L3 is an automatic travel path for performing cutting travel in the left vertical side portion of the paper surface in the outer peripheral shape S1 of the harvested region SA 1. The circle travel paths L2 and L4 are automatic travel paths for performing cutting travel in upper and lower portions of the outer peripheral shape S1 of the harvested region SA 1. Note that, at the corner between the paths of the respective circle travel paths L1 to L4, the combine harvester 1 performs a turning-back type turn travel with forward and backward movements called "α -turn".

The combine harvester 1 cuts the crop while automatically performing circle-around travel along the circle-around travel paths L1 to L4. The travel direction of the combine harvester 1 when traveling along the circle travel path L1 is deviated to the right in the travel direction from the direction along the right longitudinal side of the paper surface in the outer peripheral shape S1. Therefore, when the combine harvester 1 performs the harvesting travel along the winding travel path L1, the portion of the harvesting portion H of the combine harvester 1 that overlaps the harvested region SA1 increases as the combine harvester 1 advances. At this time, the proportion of the crop entering the harvesting portion H while being biased to the left and right decreases as the combine harvester 1 moves forward.

Further, the travel direction of the combine harvester 1 when traveling along the circle travel path L3 is deviated to the left in the travel direction from the direction along the left vertical side of the paper surface in the outer peripheral shape S1. Therefore, when the combine harvester 1 travels along the winding travel path L3, the portion of the harvesting portion H of the combine harvester 1 that overlaps the harvested region SA1 decreases as the combine harvester 1 advances. At this time, the proportion of the crop entering the harvesting portion H while being biased to the left and right increases as the combine harvester 1 moves forward.

When the combine harvester 1 is caused to perform the mowing travel along the circle travel paths L1 to L4 by the automatic travel control, a trapezoidal harvested region SA2 is formed as a mowing trajectory of the mowing travel of the combine harvester 1 on the inner side of the harvested region SA1 in the outer peripheral region SA. Further, an outer peripheral shape S2 of the uncurved region is formed at a position inside the field with respect to the harvested region SA 2.

The outer peripheral shape S2 of the uncurved region is a shape closer to a rectangular shape than the outer peripheral shape S1 formed in a trapezoidal shape. However, as shown in fig. 19, the left and right longitudinal sides of the outer peripheral shape S2 of the uncut region are not parallel to the left and right longitudinal sides of the outer peripheral shape S0 of the inner region CA, but do not extend in the row direction. In this case, as shown in fig. 20, the circle travel path setting unit 23A sets the circle travel paths L5 to L8 to: when the combine harvester 1 travels around, the rate at which the crop enters the harvesting portion H while being biased to the left and right increases or decreases as the combine harvester 1 advances.

In fig. 20, the crop located further inside than the harvested area SA2 is harvested by the circle-around travel. The circle travel at this time is performed by the automatic travel, and the circle travel paths L5 to L8 for the automatic travel are set by the circle travel path setting unit 23A. The circle travel path L5 is an automatic travel path for performing cutting travel in the right vertical side portion of the paper surface in the outer peripheral shape S2 of the harvested region SA2, and the circle travel path L7 is an automatic travel path for performing cutting travel in the left vertical side portion of the paper surface in the outer peripheral shape S2 of the harvested region SA 2. The travel directions of the combine harvester 1 when traveling along the circle travel paths L5 and L7 are in the up-down direction of the paper. Note that, at the corners between the paths of the respective circle travel paths L5 to L8, the combine harvester 1 also makes an α -turn, as in the case of the corners of the respective circle travel paths L1 to L4.

The combine harvester 1 cuts the crop while automatically performing circle-around travel along the circle-around travel paths L5 to L8. The travel direction of the combine harvester 1 when traveling along the circle travel paths L5 and L7 is in the up-down direction of the paper. Therefore, when the combine harvester 1 travels along the right longitudinal side of the outer peripheral shape S2, the portion of the harvesting portion H of the combine harvester 1 that overlaps the harvested region SA2 increases as the combine harvester 1 moves forward. At this time, the proportion of the crop entering the harvesting portion H while being biased to the left and right decreases as the combine harvester 1 moves forward.

When the combine harvester 1 travels along the left longitudinal side of the outer peripheral shape S2, the portion of the harvesting portion H of the combine harvester 1 that overlaps the harvested region SA2 decreases as the combine harvester 1 moves forward. At this time, the proportion of the crop entering the harvesting portion H while being biased to the left and right increases as the combine harvester 1 moves forward.

When the combine harvester 1 completes the mowing travel for one round along the loop travel paths L5 to L8 by the automatic travel control, the harvested region SA3 is formed as a mowing trajectory of the mowing travel of the combine harvester 1 on the inner side of the harvested region SA2 in the outer peripheral region SA, and the outer peripheral shape S3 of the uncurved region is formed in a rectangular shape on the inner side of the field with respect to the harvested region SA 3. The outer peripheral shape S3 is the same shape as the outer peripheral shape S0 of the inner area CA, and the circle travel path setting unit 23A sets the circle travel paths L1 to L8 so that the actual outer peripheral shape of the inner area CA is rectangular. When the circle travel shown in fig. 20 is completed, harvesting of the crop in the outer peripheral area SA is completed.

In this way, the circle travel path setting unit 23A sets a plurality of circle travel paths in the outer peripheral area SA so that the outer peripheral shape of the uncut area after cutting the crop approaches the rectangular outer peripheral shape S0 of the inner area CA every time the circle travel is repeated. In other words, when at least the sides located on the left and right outer sides with respect to the parallel travel path LS (see fig. 21) among the sides constituting the field shape are not parallel to the parallel travel path LS, the circle travel path setting unit 23A sets the circle travel path so that the sides located on the left and right outer sides with respect to the parallel travel path LS among the sides constituting the outer peripheral shape S0 of the inner area CA become parallel to the parallel travel path LS by causing the combine harvester 1 to travel while performing the cutting operation on the circle travel path.

The automatic travel control unit 24 outputs a control signal to cause the combine harvester 1 in the outer peripheral area SA to perform mowing travel while spirally advancing along the circle travel path set by the circle travel path setting unit 23A. The left and right longitudinal sides of the outer peripheral shape S3 are along the row direction of the crop in the inner area CA.

When the cutting travel is performed along the circle travel paths L1 and L5 shown in fig. 19 and 20, the cutting section H cuts 6 rows of crops at the start ends of the circle travel paths L1 and L5, and the cutting section H cuts only the left 1 row of crops at the end ends of the circle travel paths L1 and L5, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The cutting section H may cut crops in 5 rows or less on the left side at the start end of the circle travel paths L1 and L5, and may cut crops in 2 rows or more on the left side at the end of the circle travel paths L1 and L5.

When the cutting travel is performed along the circle travel paths L3 and L7 shown in fig. 19 and 20, the cutting section H cuts only 1 row of crops at the left end at the start ends of the circle travel paths L3 and L7, and cuts 6 rows of crops at the end ends of the circle travel paths L3 and L7, but the present invention is not limited to this. The cutting section H may cut crops in 2 or more rows on the left side at the start ends of the circle travel paths L3 and L7, and may cut crops in 5 or less rows on the left side at the end ends of the circle travel paths L3 and L7.

In this way, in the case where the sides located on the outer left and right sides with respect to the parallel travel path LS in the outer peripheral shape of the uncurved area in the outer peripheral area SA do not lie along the row direction, the circle travel path setting unit 23A can set the circle travel paths L1 to L8: when the combine harvester 1 performs the circle traveling, the ratio of the crop entering the harvesting portion H while being biased to the left and right sides increases or decreases as the combine harvester 1 advances.

While the combine harvester 1 is performing the harvesting travel on the winding travel path, the harvested straws harvested by the cutting device 15 are conveyed to the threshing device 13 by the conveying device 16 as described above. Then, the cut grain stalks are threshed in a threshing device 13. Further, by repeating the round trip travel of the combine harvester 1 on the round trip travel path, a space is secured in which the direction can be switched (for example, a path for U-turn) in the outer peripheral area SA at the time of reciprocating travel.

[ relating to parallel travel paths ]

As shown in fig. 21, the parallel travel route setting unit 23B sets a plurality of parallel travel routes LS for automatic travel, which perform reciprocating travel in the inner area CA, to an extending direction along the left and right vertical sides, that is, a row direction. That is, the automatic travel control unit 24 controls the travel of the combine harvester 1 to: after the cutting travel of the circle on the field in a spiral shape, the reciprocating travel is performed. During the reciprocating travel, the combine harvester 1 alternately repeats the cutting travel of cutting while advancing along the parallel travel path LS in the inner area CA and the direction change in the outer area SA.

In the pair of left and right traveling

devices

11, 11 in the combine harvester 1, the traveling device 11 on the left side is often offset more inward in the lateral direction of the machine body than the traveling device 11 on the right side. Therefore, when the harvesting travel is performed in a state where the left side of the left side portion of the machine body has the non-harvested region and the right side of the right side portion of the machine body has the harvested region, the crop in the non-harvested region is less likely to be crushed by the traveling device 11.

In the present embodiment, the parallel travel route setting unit 23B sets the parallel travel route LS to: the right side part of the machine body is adjacent to the harvested area as much as possible. That is, in the reciprocating travel, the combine harvester 1 alternately performs the harvesting travel at a pair of side portions extending in the traveling direction in the outer peripheral shape of the non-harvesting area, and the combine harvester 1 travels counterclockwise along the paper surface of fig. 21.

In fig. 21, the inner area CA is divided into partial work areas CA1, CA2, and CA 3. The combine harvester 1 travels sequentially from the parallel travel paths LS at the left and right ends of the paper surface of each of the partial working areas CA1, CA2, and CA3 to the parallel travel paths LS on the left and right inner sides of the paper surface. Therefore, if the distance when the combine harvester 1 moves from the first parallel travel path LS to the second parallel travel path LS is long, the idle running distance of the combine harvester 1 becomes long, and the work efficiency becomes poor. Further, when the grain tank 14 is filled up while the combine harvester 1 is running in the middle of the cutting travel in the partial working areas CA1, CA2, and CA3, the combine harvester 1 is out of the parallel travel path LS for discharging the grains in the middle, and the work efficiency is deteriorated. Therefore, the parallel travel route setting unit 23B calculates the width and the number of lines to be worked of each of the partial work areas CA1, CA2, and CA3, taking into account the separation distance between the pair of sides extending in the row direction in the outer peripheral shape S0 of the inner area CA, the capacity of the grain box 14, and the like.

In the present embodiment, a harvesting unit H that harvests 6 rows is provided. The number of lines to be worked in each of the partial working areas CA1, CA2, and CA3 is preferably a multiple of 6, and when the number of lines to be worked is not a multiple of 6, the harvesting travel is performed in a state where the right end of the harvesting portion H overlaps the harvested area by 1 line as shown in fig. 28. The harvesting travel of 1 row overlapping the harvested region is performed 1 or more times based on the remainder obtained by dividing the number of rows to be worked by the number of rated harvesting rows of the harvesting section H.

In order to avoid as much as possible the trouble that the harvesting portion H picks up straw chips and the like in the harvested region, in the present embodiment, the left and right ranges in which the harvesting portion H overlaps the harvested region on the parallel travel path LS are limited to regions of 1 row each on the left and right. It is inconvenient if any one of the left and right 2 rows or more areas of the harvesting section H overlaps the harvested area on the last parallel travel path LS of each of the partial working areas CA1, CA2, and CA 3. Therefore, the parallel travel route setting unit 23B sets the parallel travel route LS to: the number of dividing lines of the dividing unit H is adjusted in the parallel travel route LS before the last parallel travel route LS of each of the partial work areas CA1, CA2, and CA 3. In other words, the parallel travel route setting unit 23B sets the plurality of parallel travel routes LS in accordance with the number of mowing lines of the combine harvester 1 based on the line position and the line interval. This can avoid the possibility that the number of cutting lines becomes too small in the last parallel travel route LS of each of the partial working areas CA1, CA2, and CA3, and a region of 2 lines or more on either the left or right of the cutting section H overlaps the already-harvested region.

While the combine harvester 1 travels along the parallel travel path LS for harvesting, the harvested straws harvested by the cutting device 15 are conveyed to the threshing device 13 by the conveying device 16 as described above. Then, the cut grain stalks are threshed in a threshing device 13.

[ concerning the control of the inclination during cutting travel ]

For example, when the harvesting travel is performed along the winding travel paths L1, L3, L5, and L7 shown in fig. 19 and 20, the portion of the harvesting portion H of the combine harvester 1 protruding toward the harvested region SA1 or the harvested region SA2 increases as the combine harvester 1 advances. Therefore, when the crop is harvested by the harvesting unit H in a state where either one of the left and right end portions of the harvesting unit H protrudes toward the harvested regions SA1 and SA2, the crop enters the harvesting unit H while being biased to the left and right sides with respect to the harvesting unit H, and no crop enters the other left and right side portions of the harvesting unit H.

On the other hand, the other left and right portions of the harvesting section H, in which no crop is inserted, are forward of the harvested regions SA1 and SA2, and harvested straw chips and the like are scattered in the harvested regions SA1 and SA 2. Therefore, it is conceivable that such scattered straw chips and the like are picked up by the cutting portion H. In this case, the straw chips and the like are conveyed to the threshing device 13 (see fig. 16) by the conveyor 16 (see fig. 16) together with the harvested straws, and there is a possibility that the fine straw chips and the like are mixed into the grains stored in the grain tank 14, and the threshing load of the threshing device 13 is unnecessarily increased. In order to avoid such a problem, the present embodiment includes a tilt control unit 25 (see fig. 17, the same applies hereinafter) capable of performing tilt control.

The tilt control is as follows: when the crop area determination unit 27 (see fig. 17, the same applies hereinafter) determines that the crop area is in the deflected state, the left-right inclination of the cutting portion H is changed by the lifting device 29 serving as the cutting inclination changing means so that the height position of the portion of the cutting portion H on the side where no crop enters is higher than the height position of the portion of the cutting portion H on the side where a crop enters.

As described above with reference to fig. 17, the lifting device 29 can change the height position of the body with respect to each of the left and right traveling

devices

11, 11 to roll the body. The cutting portion H is supported by the machine body so as to be tilted integrally with the tilting operation of the machine body by the elevating device 29. Therefore, the lifting device 29 as the cutting inclination changing mechanism can change the lateral inclination of the cutting portion H by tilting the cutting portion H.

As described above, the work area determination unit 27 can determine the deviation state based on the detection result of the work condition detection unit 26. The crop area determination unit 27 can acquire row information from the row information acquisition unit 22A, and information on the row pitch of the crop is also included in the row information. Therefore, the crop area determination unit 27 determines the width of the range in which the crop enters the cutting unit H and the width of the range in which the crop does not enter the cutting unit H, based on the number of rows of the crop existing in front of the cutting unit H.

The flow of the tilt control by the tilt control unit 25 will be described with reference to fig. 22. When the combine harvester 1 starts traveling forward while cutting the crop in the field along the circle travel paths L1 to L8 or the parallel travel path LS, first, the inclination control unit 25 acquires the row number of the crop ahead of the cutting unit H (step # 01). Then, the crop area determination unit 27 determines whether or not the number of rows of the acquired crop is smaller than the maximum number of rows that can be cut by the cutting unit H, thereby determining a deviation state (step # 02). For example, if the harvesting section H is in the 6-row harvest specification and the number of rows of the crop to be harvested is 5 rows or less, the determination of step #02 is yes.

If the number of rows of crops obtained from the crop area determination unit 27 is the same as the maximum number of rows that can be cut by the cutting unit H, the crop area determination unit 27 does not determine that the crop area is in the biased state, the step #02 determines no, and the process proceeds to step #06, which will be described later. If the crop area determination unit 27 determines that the crop area is in the deviated state, the step #02 is determined as yes, and the tilt control unit 25 calculates the operation amount of the lifting device 29 on the harvested area side from the row number of the crop in front of the harvesting unit H (step # 03).

The operation amount of the lifting device 29 on the harvested region side is calculated to be sufficient to prevent the height position of the portion of the harvesting portion H on the side where no crop enters from picking up straw chips and the like in the harvested region and to prevent the height position of the portion of the harvesting portion H on the side where a crop enters from being unnecessarily raised. Note that, if there are portions where no crop enters at both the left and right ends of the harvesting portion H, the tilt control portion 25 calculates the operation amounts of both the left and right elevating

devices

29, 29.

When the operation amount of the lifting device 29 is calculated, the inclination control unit 25 acquires the current harvesting height of the harvesting unit H set by the harvesting height setting unit 32 (step # 04). Then, the inclination control unit 25 raises the lifting device 29 on the harvested region side so that the height position of the harvesting unit H on the side where no crop enters changes with respect to the harvesting height (step # 05). Note that, in the case where the right and left sides of the machine body are harvested regions, the inclination control unit 25 raises both the right and left elevating

devices

29, 29.

When the combine harvester 1 starts traveling along one travel route while cutting the crop in the field, the processes of steps #01 to #05 are executed. Here, the "start time" may be before the start or may be the moment of the start. While the combine harvester 1 travels forward while cutting the crop in the field along one travel path, the processing from step #06 onward is executed.

During the harvesting travel of the combine harvester 1, the inclination control portion 25 determines whether the combine harvester 1 has reached the end of one travel path (step # 06). If the combine harvester 1 has reached the end of one travel path (step # 06: yes), the tilt control by the tilt control section 25 is ended.

If the combine harvester 1 does not reach the end of one travel path (step # 06: No), the inclination control section 25 acquires the number of rows of crops in front of the harvesting section H (step # 07). The number of rows of crops is determined by the crop area determination unit 27, and the tilt control unit 25 obtains the number of rows of crops within a range of 10 meters ahead of the cutting unit H, for example. Then, the inclination control unit 25 determines whether or not the number of lines of the crop in front of the cutting unit H changes in the middle (step # 08).

If the number of crop rows in this range is obtained and the number of crop rows is the same over the entire range (step # 08: no), the process proceeds to step #06, and the tilt control by the tilt control unit 25 is repeated from step # 06. When there is a change in the number of rows of crop plants in the middle (yes in step #08), as exemplified by the circle travel paths L1, L3, L5, and L7 in fig. 19 and 20, it is considered that the extent of the harvesting section H in which no crop plant enters increases or decreases toward the front of the combine harvester 1 before reaching the end of the travel path. Then, the tilt control unit 25 executes the following tilt control in accordance with an increase or decrease in the range in which no crop enters in the harvesting unit H.

Before the lift device 29 is operated, the inclination control unit 25 acquires the current position coordinates and the vehicle speed of the combine harvester 1 (step # 09). The current position coordinates of the combine harvester 1 are calculated by the vehicle position calculating unit 21, and the current vehicle speed of the combine harvester 1 is calculated by the vehicle speed detecting unit 21B.

Next, the inclination control unit 25 calculates start coordinates at which the operation of the lifting device 29 should be started, based on the current position coordinates and the vehicle speed of the combine harvester 1, so that the operation timing of the lifting device 29 does not delay (step # 10). The faster the vehicle speed, the farther the start coordinate is set from the change point of the row number of crops to the start end side of the travel path, and the slower the vehicle speed, the closer the start coordinate is set to the change point of the row number of crops. That is, the inclination control unit 25 changes the operation start timing of the lifter 29 as the cutting inclination changing means according to the vehicle speed. Then, the inclination control section 25 determines whether or not the combine harvester 1 has reached the start coordinate (step # 11).

If the combine harvester 1 does not reach the start coordinates (step # 11: no), the processing of step #09 and step #10 is repeated. With this configuration, even when the vehicle speed of the combine harvester 1 changes, the inclination control unit 25 can change the start coordinate in real time in accordance with the change in the vehicle speed of the combine harvester 1.

When the combine harvester 1 has reached the start coordinate (step # 11: yes), the inclination control unit 25 acquires the current harvesting height of the harvesting unit H set by the harvesting height setting unit 32 (step # 12). Then, the inclination control unit 25 performs inclination control so that the height position of the portion of the harvesting unit H on the harvested region side is changed based on the harvesting height set by the harvesting height setting unit 32. That is, the tilt control unit 25 raises or lowers the lift device 29 to change the height position of the body with respect to the travel device 11 on the harvested region side, thereby tilting the body (step # 13). Note that, in the case where the harvested region is adjacent to both the left and right sides of the machine body, the tilt control unit 25 raises or lowers the lifting device 29 on the side where the crop row number changes in the left and right lifting devices 29, and in the case where the crop row number changes on both the left and right sides of the machine body, raises or lowers both the left and

right lifting devices

29, 29.

The processing of steps #06 to #13 is repeated until the end of the travel route. Thereby, even in the case where there are a plurality of places of change in the number of crop rows, the tilt control by the tilt control section 25 can be executed until the combine harvester 1 passes through the last place of change in the travel path.

[ details of the mode of tilt control ]

Fig. 23 to 25 schematically show the case of performing the cutting travel along the winding travel paths L1 and L5 shown in fig. 19 and 20. At the time of the cutting travel shown in fig. 23 to 25, the processing of steps #01 to #05 shown in fig. 22 is already completed, and the processing of step #06 and subsequent steps is performed. Note that, in the present embodiment, a harvesting portion H that harvests 6 rows is provided. The harvesting height of the harvesting portion H is set to the first harvesting height V1 by the harvesting height setting portion 32.

The "left and right sides" in the present invention are the sides where the non-harvested regions are located in fig. 23 to 28, and the "left and right sides" in the present invention are the sides where the harvested regions are located in fig. 23 to 28. Therefore, in the present invention, the left and right portions of the harvesting portion H are the portions on the non-harvesting region side in the harvesting portion H shown in fig. 23 to 28, and the left and right portions of the harvesting portion H are the portions on the harvested region side in the harvesting portion H shown in fig. 23 to 28. That is, the crop enters the harvesting portion H with a bias toward the non-harvesting region with respect to the harvesting portion H.

In fig. 23, crops in 6 rows are cut by the cutting section H, and the range in which no crop enters the cutting section H is enlarged as the crops are farther forward from the cutting section H. When the combine harvester 1 travels forward from the state shown in fig. 23, the traveling direction of the harvesting unit H projects toward the harvested region by 1 row to the right side portion as shown in fig. 24, and the left 5 rows of crops are harvested in the harvesting unit H. In a harvested area on the right side in the traveling direction of the combine harvester 1, straw chips and the like after harvesting are scattered.

In fig. 23, since the combine harvester 1 does not reach the end of the travel path, step #06 in fig. 22 is determined as no, and the process of step #07 is executed. In fig. 23, since the number of lines of the crop in front of the cutting portion H changes from 6 lines to 5 lines in the middle, step #08 in fig. 22 is determined as yes. Then, the tilt control section 25 executes tilt control based on the processing of steps #09 to #13 in fig. 22.

As a result of the tilt control by the tilt control unit 25, as shown in fig. 24, the height position of the part of the harvesting unit H on the side where the harvested region is located with respect to the travel device 11 is raised by the lift device 29 to Δ V1 higher than the first harvesting height V1. The inclination control unit 25 performs inclination control so that the part of the harvesting unit H on the side where the harvested region is located is higher than a first harvesting height V1 set in advance in the harvesting unit H.

When the crop area determination unit 27 determines that the crop is in a deflected state, i.e., a deflected state, in which the crop is deflected toward the non-harvest area side and enters the harvesting unit H, the tilt control unit 25 performs the following tilt control: the left-right inclination of the harvesting part H is changed by the lifting device 29 so that the height position of the part of the harvesting part H on the side of the harvested region where no crop enters is higher than the height position of the part of the harvesting part H on the side of the non-harvested region where the crop enters.

When the combine harvester 1 further travels forward from the state shown in fig. 24, the traveling direction of the harvesting unit H projects toward the harvested region by 2 rows toward the right side portion as shown in fig. 25, and the crops in the left 4 rows in the harvesting unit H are harvested. When the harvesting travel is performed in this area, straw chips and the like scattered in the harvested area are discharged from the left and right center areas of the rear part of the body of the combine harvester 1, and therefore tend to concentrate near the left and right centers of the travel path of the combine harvester 1. Therefore, the straw chips and the like scattered in the harvested region are likely to be accumulated higher as the distance from the non-harvested region increases. Therefore, if the combine harvester 1 shown in fig. 24 is tilted, the portion of the harvesting portion H on the side where the harvesting area is located may pick up straw chips and the like. Therefore, the inclination control section 25 further performs the inclination control in correspondence with the further protrusion of the harvesting section H from the harvesting section H on the side where the harvested region is located toward the harvested region.

As a result of the inclination control by the inclination control unit 25, as shown in fig. 25, the height position of the part of the harvesting unit H on the side where the harvested region is located with respect to the travel device 11 is raised by the lift device 29 to Δ V2 higher than the first harvesting height V1. Δ v2 is set higher than Δ v1, for example, Δ v2 is set to 2 times Δ v 1. Note that the value of Δ v2 may be changed as appropriate as long as the value of Δ v2 is higher than the value of Δ v 1.

Fig. 26 and 27 schematically show the case of performing the cutting travel along the winding travel paths L3 and L7 shown in fig. 19 and 20. When the travel along the circle travel paths L3 and L7 is started, since the number of rows of the crop ahead of the harvesting unit H is less than 6, step #02 in fig. 22 is determined as yes, and the tilt control unit 25 executes the tilt control based on the processing of steps #03 to #05 in fig. 22. At the time of the cutting travel shown in fig. 26 and 27, the processing of steps #01 to #05 shown in fig. 22 is already completed, and the processing of step #06 and subsequent steps is performed.

In fig. 26, 4 rows of crops are harvested by the harvesting portion H, and the traveling direction of the harvesting portion H is projected toward the harvested region by 2 rows toward the right side. The harvesting height of the harvesting portion H is set to the first harvesting height V1 by the harvesting height setting portion 32. In addition, the height position of the portion of the harvesting section H on the harvesting area side with respect to the traveling device 11 is raised by the lift device 29 to Δ V3 higher than the first harvesting height V1 in accordance with the degree of protrusion of the portion of the harvesting section H on the harvesting area side.

In fig. 26, the farther forward from the cutting portion H, the wider the range in which the crop enters the cutting portion H. When the combine harvester 1 travels forward from the state shown in fig. 26, the extent of protrusion into the harvested region in the portion of the harvesting portion H on the side where the harvested region is located is reduced from the amount of 2 rows to the amount of 1 row as shown in fig. 27, and the crop on the left 5 rows is harvested in the harvesting portion H.

In fig. 26, since the combine harvester 1 does not reach the end of the travel path, step #06 in fig. 22 is determined as no, and the process of step #07 is executed. In fig. 26, since the number of lines of the crop in front of the cutting portion H changes from 4 lines to 5 lines in the middle, step #08 in fig. 22 is determined as yes. Then, the tilt control section 25 executes tilt control based on the processing of steps #09 to #13 in fig. 22.

As a result of the inclination control by the inclination control unit 25, as shown in fig. 27, the height position of the portion of the harvesting unit H on the side where the harvested region is located relative to the travel device 11 is lowered from a state of being higher than the first harvesting height V1 by Δ V3 to a state of being higher than the first harvesting height V1 by Δ V4. This lowering operation is performed by the lifting device 29. Δ v4 is set lower than Δ v3, for example, Δ v4 is set to a value half that of Δ v 3. Note that the value of Δ v4 may be changed as appropriate as long as the value of Δ v4 is lower than the value of Δ v 3. In addition, the value of Δ v3 and the value of Δ v2 shown in fig. 25 may be the same, and the value of Δ v4 and the value of Δ v1 shown in fig. 24 may be the same.

In this way, the wider the range of the harvesting portion H in which no crop enters, the more the inclination control portion 25 is at a higher height position of the portion of the harvesting portion H on the side where the harvested region is located.

Fig. 28 schematically shows a case where the cutting travel is performed along one of the plurality of parallel travel paths LS shown in fig. 21. In the example shown in fig. 28, when traveling along the parallel travel path LS is started, the number of rows of the crop in front of the mowing section H is 5 rows. Therefore, step #02 in fig. 22 is determined as yes, and the tilt control unit 25 executes the tilt control based on the processing of steps #03 to #05 in fig. 22. Then, the height position of the portion of the harvesting section H on the side where the harvesting area is located with respect to the travel device 11 is raised by Δ V1 higher than the first harvesting height V1 by the lift device 29.

At the time of the cutting travel shown in fig. 28, the processing of steps #01 to #05 shown in fig. 22 is already completed, and the processing of step #06 and subsequent steps is performed. In the case of the parallel travel route LS shown in fig. 21, since the number of rows of crops does not change in the middle, if the case is normal while the mowing travel shown in fig. 28 is continued, step #08 in fig. 22 is always determined as no. Then, the vehicle is left as it is until the end of the parallel travel path LS, and step #06 in fig. 22 determines yes, and the tilt control by the tilt control unit 25 is ended.

Fig. 29 schematically illustrates a case where the cutting travel is performed along the last parallel travel route LS in any one of the partial work areas CA1, CA2, and CA3 among the plurality of parallel travel routes LS shown in fig. 21. In the example shown in fig. 29, when the parallel travel path LS starts traveling, the number of rows of crops in front of the cutting section H is 4, and areas where crops do not enter exist in the portions corresponding to 1 row on the left and right of the cutting section H. Therefore, the determination of step #02 is yes, and the tilt control unit 25 executes the tilt control based on the processing of steps #03 to #05 in fig. 22. Then, the height position of the entire harvesting section H with respect to the traveling device 11 is raised to a height Δ V1 higher than the first harvesting height V1 by the two left and right elevating

devices

29, 29.

At the time of the cutting travel shown in fig. 29, the processing of steps #01 to #05 shown in fig. 22 is already completed, and the processing of step #06 and thereafter is performed. As described above with reference to fig. 28, step #08 in fig. 22 is always determined as no if the case is normal while the cutting travel shown in fig. 29 is continued. Then, the process is continued as it is until the end of the parallel running path LS, and the step #06 determines yes, and the tilt control by the tilt control unit 25 is ended.

Fig. 30 and 31 schematically show the case of performing the cutting travel along the winding travel paths L1 and L5 shown in fig. 19 and 20. Fig. 23 and 24 also show the case of the cutting travel along the circle travel paths L1 and L5, and as a difference from fig. 23 and 24 in fig. 30 and 31, the travel device 11 travels while sinking below the field surface due to the fact that the field is wet. Therefore, the harvesting height of the harvesting portion H is set to the second harvesting height V2 higher than the first harvesting height V1 by the harvesting height setting unit 32.

At the time of the cutting travel shown in fig. 30 to 31, the processing of steps #01 to #05 shown in fig. 22 is already completed, and the processing of step #06 and subsequent steps is performed. In fig. 30, crops in 6 rows are cut by the cutting section H, and the range in which no crop enters the cutting section H is enlarged as the crops are farther forward from the cutting section H. As described above with reference to fig. 23 and 24, the inclination control unit 25 performs inclination control such that the portion of the harvesting unit H on the harvesting area side becomes higher by Δ V1 than the second harvesting height V2 set in advance in the harvesting unit H.

As a result of the inclination control by the inclination control unit 25, as shown in fig. 31, the height position of the part of the harvesting unit H on the side where the harvested region is located relative to the travel device 11 is raised by the lift device 29 to a height Δ V1 higher than the second harvesting height V2. The value of Δ v1 is the same as the value of Δ v1 shown in fig. 24.

In fig. 24, the portion of the harvesting section H on the side where the harvested region is located rises by Δ V1 from the first harvesting height V1, and in fig. 31, the portion of the harvesting section H on the side where the harvested region is located rises by Δ V1 from the second harvesting height V2. Fig. 24 differs from fig. 31 only in that the harvesting height of the harvesting portion H is set to the first harvesting height V1 or the harvesting height of the harvesting portion H is set to the second harvesting height V2, and in both fig. 24 and fig. 31, the amount of elevation of the portion of the harvesting portion H on the side where the harvested region is located is Δ V1.

That is, the inclination control unit 25 performs inclination control such that the height position of the portion of the harvesting unit H on the side where the harvested region is located changes with reference to the harvesting height set by the harvesting height setting unit 32. This enables tilt control according to the type of crop, the field condition, and the like.

[ other embodiments ]

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.

(1) In the embodiment shown in fig. 18, the harvesting travel for harvesting the crop in the field while traveling around the ridge of the field is performed by the manual travel, but the harvesting travel along the ridge of the field may be performed by the automatic travel.

(2) In the embodiment shown in fig. 18 to 20, the circle travel path setting unit 23A sets the circle travel paths L1, L3, L5, and L6 such that the portion of the harvesting unit H of the combine harvester 1 that overlaps the harvested regions SA1 and SA2 increases or decreases as the combine harvester 1 advances when both sides of the field outer peripheral shapes S1 and S2 that are intended to be along the row direction do not extend along the row direction, but is not limited to this embodiment. As shown in fig. 32, the circle travel path setting unit 23A may set, for example, circle travel paths L51 and L55 along the row direction and circle travel paths L52 and L54 for performing non-work travel on the harvested region SA1 along the ridges of the field.

In this configuration, the outer peripheral shapes S51, S52 of the uncut regions are formed in a hexagonal shape, and as shown in fig. 33, the portions of both the left and right sides not extending in the row direction are further cut by the winding travel paths L57, L61 extending in the row direction. Therefore, in the circle travel paths L58, L60, the distance that the combine harvester 1 travels without space is reduced compared to the circle travel paths L52, L54, and the outer peripheral shape S53 of the non-harvesting area is closer to a rectangle than the outer peripheral shape S52. Further, as shown in fig. 34, the circle travel path setting unit 23A sets circle travel paths L63 to L66, and performs circle harvesting so that the outer peripheral shape S0, i.e., the outer peripheral shape S54 of the inner area CA has a rectangular shape.

Alternatively, the wrap-around harvesting may not be performed until the rectangular shape shown in fig. 34 is obtained. For example, as shown in fig. 33, a parallel travel path LS overlapping the already harvested region may be set at the side portion of the outer peripheral shape S53 not along the row direction after the cutting by the circle travel paths L58 and L60. That is, even in the case where the side portion not along the row direction is left, if it is more efficient to enter the reciprocating travel than to continue the circling travel, the travel path setting portion 23 may set a plurality of parallel travel paths LS parallel to each other in the area inside the outer peripheral shape S53 shown in fig. 33.

(3) In the above embodiment, the travel route setting unit 23 divides the outer peripheral area SA and the inner area CA based on the field shape data, but the travel route setting unit 23 may not divide the outer peripheral area SA and the inner area CA in advance. The travel route setting unit 23 may set an unharvested area after the combine harvester 1 performs the circle traveling as the inner area CA, and update the inner area CA every time the combine harvester 1 repeats the circle traveling. Further, when the actual outer peripheral shape of the inner area CA becomes a rectangle as shown in fig. 20, the travel route setting unit 23 may specify the inner area CA and set a plurality of parallel travel routes LS parallel to each other.

(4) In the above embodiment, the circle travel paths L1, L3, L5, and L6 are set as straight travel paths, but the circle travel paths L1, L3, L5, and L6 may be set as curved travel paths. For example, when the outer peripheral shape of the field is curved and the outer peripheral shape of the uncut region is curved, the circle travel paths L1 to L8 may be curved closer to a straight line than the outer peripheral shape of the uncut region, and the outer peripheral shape of the uncut region may be finally rectangular.

(5) The inner area CA may not be rectangular. For example, in fig. 18 to 21, of the outer peripheral shapes S1, S2, and S3 of the field, only two sides extending up and down at the left end portion and the right end portion may be along the row direction, and two sides extending left and right at the upper end portion and the lower end portion may not be perpendicular to the row direction. That is, when the side located on the left and right outer sides with respect to the parallel travel path LS among the sides configuring the field shape is not parallel to the parallel travel path LS, the circle travel path setting unit 23A may set the circle travel path such that: by causing the combine harvester 1 to travel while performing the cutting operation on the circling travel path, the one of the sides of the outer peripheral shape S0 that constitutes the inner region CA that is positioned on the left and right outer sides with respect to the parallel travel path LS becomes parallel to the parallel travel path LS.

(6) In the above embodiment, the harvesting portion H of the 6-line harvesting standard is provided, but the harvesting portion H may be of the 5-line harvesting standard or of the 4-line harvesting standard.

(7) In the above embodiment, the cutting inclination changing mechanism is constituted by the elevating device 29, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. The cutting inclination changing mechanism may be provided in the cutting section H as a dedicated mechanism that can be tilted with respect to the machine body.

(8) The technical features of the automatic travel control system described above can also be applied to an automatic travel control method. The automatic travel control method in this case may include: a circle traveling path setting step of setting a circle traveling path in the outer peripheral area SA; a parallel travel route setting step of setting a plurality of parallel travel routes LS parallel to each other in the inner area CA; an automatic travel control step of causing the combine harvester 1 to automatically travel along the circle travel path and the plurality of parallel travel paths LS. Also, the circle traveling path setting step may be: when the sides of the field shape that are located on the left and right outer sides with respect to the parallel travel path LS are not parallel to the parallel travel path LS, the circle travel path is set such that the sides of the outer peripheral shape S0 that constitute the inner region CA that are located on the left and right outer sides with respect to the parallel travel path LS become parallel to the parallel travel path LS by causing the combine harvester 1 to travel while performing the cutting operation on the circle travel path.

(9) The technical features of the automatic travel control system described above can also be applied to an automatic travel control program. The automatic travel control program in this case may cause the computer to execute: a circle traveling path setting function capable of setting a circle traveling path in the outer peripheral area SA; a parallel travel route setting function capable of setting a plurality of parallel travel routes LS parallel to each other in the inner area CA; and an automatic travel control function that automatically travels the combine harvester 1 along the circle travel path and the plurality of parallel travel paths LS. Further, the circle travel path setting function may be: when the sides of the field shape that are located on the left and right outer sides with respect to the parallel travel path LS are not parallel to the parallel travel path LS, the circle travel path is set such that the sides of the outer peripheral shape S0 that constitute the inner region CA that are located on the left and right outer sides with respect to the parallel travel path LS become parallel to the parallel travel path LS by causing the combine harvester 1 to travel while performing the cutting operation on the circle travel path.

(10) The parallel travel paths LS shown in the above-described embodiment may not be strictly parallel travel paths, and may be, for example, travel paths that are approximately parallel to each other or travel paths that are substantially parallel to each other. Further, the parallel travel route setting unit 23B may be configured to: a plurality of parallel travel paths LS approximately parallel to each other or a plurality of parallel travel paths LS substantially parallel to each other can be set in the inner area CA.

(11) In the above embodiment, as shown in fig. 21, the combine harvester 1 cuts the crop while performing the circling travel in the outer peripheral area SA of the field, and then cuts the crop while performing the reciprocating travel in the inner area CA. For example, the combine harvester 1 can also perform a circle-around travel in the inner region CA. In this case, the combine harvester 1 may perform the turning travel by the α -turn described above at the corner portions of the four corners of the non-harvesting region in the inner region CA, or may perform the turning travel by another turning method.

Note that the structures disclosed in the above embodiments (including other embodiments, the same applies hereinafter) can be applied in combination with the structures disclosed in other embodiments as long as no contradiction occurs. The embodiments disclosed in the present specification are merely exemplary, and the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto, and can be appropriately modified within a range not departing from the object of the present invention.

Industrial applicability

The present invention can be applied to an automatic travel control system for a combine harvester that cuts a crop while traveling around an outer peripheral region of a field and cuts a crop while traveling inside an inner region inside the outer peripheral region. The present invention can also be applied to a combine harvester equipped with the automatic travel control system, and the combine harvester may be a semi-feeding type combine harvester capable of harvesting grain or a full-feeding type combine harvester capable of feeding whole stalks from which the grain stalks are harvested to a threshing device.

Claims

1. An automatic travel control system for controlling automatic travel of a combine harvester that harvests crops in an unworked area, the automatic travel control system comprising:

a predicted total yield obtaining section that obtains a predicted total yield of grains predicted to be available by harvesting the crop on the non-working land;

a travel path generation unit that generates a travel path of the combine harvester in the non-working area;

the travel route generation unit sets a partial working area, which is a partial area of the non-working area, and generates the travel route of the combine harvester inside the partial working area when the total estimated output obtained by the total estimated output obtaining unit exceeds a specific amount,

the partial work area is set such that the expected total yield of grain that would be expected to be available by harvesting the crop in the partial work area does not exceed the specified amount.

2. The automatic travel control system according to claim 1, comprising:

a yield rate obtaining unit that obtains a yield rate that is a yield of grains per unit area in the non-working area;

an area acquisition unit that acquires an area of the non-working area;

the predicted total output obtaining unit calculates the predicted total output based on the output obtained by the output obtaining unit and the area of the non-working area obtained by the area obtaining unit.

3. The automatic running control system according to claim 1 or 2,

the specific amount is a predetermined amount set in advance or an amount obtained by subtracting a storage amount of grains stored in a grain storage unit of the combine harvester from the predetermined amount set in advance.

4. The automatic running control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the travel route generation unit sets, as the partial working area, an area obtained by dividing the non-working area by a straight line parallel to the traveling direction.

5. The automatic running control system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

the travel route generation unit sets the travel route such that the travel route in the partial work area is parallel to a traveling direction.

6. The automatic running control system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

the travel route generation unit sets the travel route as follows: the combine is caused to travel on a travel path located at one end portion in a direction orthogonal to the row direction in the partial working area, and then immediately after traveling on a travel path located at the other end portion in the direction orthogonal to the row direction in the partial working area.

7. The automatic running control system according to any one of claims 1 to 6,

the travel path generation unit sets the partial work area such that a width of the partial work area in a direction orthogonal to the row direction is smaller than a predetermined threshold width.

8. The automatic running control system according to any one of claims 1 to 7,

the travel route generation unit sets a remaining area, from which the partial work area is removed from the non-work area, as a new non-work area, and sets a next partial work area.

9. The automatic running control system according to claim 8,

the travel route generation unit generates a travel route of the combine harvester to a grain discharge position when the storage amount of the grain storage unit at the time of harvesting the crop in the partial working area exceeds a predetermined storage amount, and generates the travel route of the combine harvester in the next partial working area when the storage amount of the grain storage unit at the time of harvesting the crop in the partial working area is equal to or less than the predetermined storage amount.

10. The automatic running control system according to claim 8 or 9,

the travel route generation unit sets the next partial work area based on a grain yield that has been obtained by harvesting the crop in the partial work area.

11. An automatic travel route generation system that generates an automatic travel route of a harvester that harvests crops in a field, the automatic travel route generation system comprising:

a field shape acquisition unit that acquires the shape of a corner of a field;

a corner travel path generation unit that generates a corner travel path that is a path of automatic harvesting travel of the corner;

the corner travel path includes:

a first path that advances while harvesting the crop along one of the edges forming the corner;

a second path that is a path retreating along the first path;

a third path which is a path that leaves an unworked area between the first path and the third path and advances while harvesting a crop in a direction intersecting the first path;

a fourth path which is a path retreated along the third path;

and a fifth path that advances while harvesting the crop in the non-working area between the first path and the third path, and that travels in a direction between the first path and the third path and turns to travel along the other of the edges forming the corner.

12. The automatic travel path generation system according to claim 11,

the corner travel path generating section generates the third path based on a harvesting width of the harvester.

13. The automatic travel path generation system according to claim 11 or 12,

the corner travel path generation unit generates the third path based on a turning radius of the harvester.

14. The automatic travel path generation system according to claim 13,

the corner travel path generation unit generates the third path based on the amount of stored grain stored in a grain storage unit of the harvester.

15. The automatic travel path generation system according to claim 13 or 14,

the corner travel path generation unit generates the third path based on a state of a field.

16. An automatic travel control system for a combine harvester that cuts a crop while performing a circling travel in an outer peripheral region of a field and cuts a crop while performing a reciprocating travel in an inner region located inside the outer peripheral region,

the automatic travel control system is characterized by comprising:

a circle travel path setting unit capable of setting a circle travel path in the outer peripheral region;

a parallel travel route setting unit capable of setting a plurality of parallel travel routes parallel to each other in the inner area;

an automatic travel control unit that automatically travels the combine along the circle travel path and the plurality of parallel travel paths;

in a case where a side located on the left-right outer side with respect to the parallel travel path among the sides constituting the field shape is not parallel to the parallel travel path, the circle travel path setting section sets the circle travel path to: the combine is caused to travel while performing a cutting operation on the circle travel path, and a side of the sides constituting the outer peripheral shape of the inner region, which is located on the left and right outer sides with respect to the parallel travel path, is caused to be parallel to the parallel travel path.

17. The automatic running control system according to claim 16,

the automatic driving control system comprises a row information acquisition part capable of acquiring the row direction of crops,

the circle travel path setting portion sets the circle travel path such that, of the sides constituting the outer peripheral shape of the inner region, the side located on the left and right outer sides with respect to the parallel travel path is directed in the row direction.

18. The automatic running control system according to claim 17,

the line information acquisition unit can acquire line positions and line intervals,

the parallel travel route setting unit sets the plurality of parallel travel routes in accordance with the number of harvesting rows of the combine harvester based on the row position and the row interval.

19. The automatic running control system according to any one of claims 16 to 18,

the circle travel path setting portion sets the circle travel path such that an outer peripheral shape of the inner region becomes a rectangle.

20. The automatic running control system according to any one of claims 16 to 19,

the automatic driving control system is provided with a harvesting part which is arranged at the front part of the machine body of the combine harvester and is used for harvesting crops in a field,

the circle travel path setting unit may set the circle travel path to: when the combine harvester performs the circle traveling, the ratio of the crop entering the harvesting portion with the harvesting portion being biased to the left and right sides increases or decreases as the combine harvester advances.

21. The automatic running control system according to claim 20,

the automatic travel control system includes a harvesting inclination changing mechanism provided in the combine harvester and capable of tilting the harvesting unit to change a lateral inclination of the harvesting unit,

the automatic travel control system includes an inclination control unit capable of performing inclination control in which the cutting inclination changing mechanism changes the inclination of the cutting unit in the left-right direction so that the height position of the portion on the left-right side where no crop enters in the cutting unit is higher than the height position of the portion on the left-right side of the cutting unit, when a crop enters the cutting unit with a deviation to the left-right side with respect to the cutting unit.

22. A combine harvester characterized in that the combine harvester is equipped with the automatic travel control system according to any one of claims 16 to 21.