JPH0736728A - Inspection device for control device in autonomous vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To quickly and easily diagnose the faults of microcomputer units for controlling an automatic travelling vehicle. CONSTITUTION:Two microcomputer units 101 and 102 mounted on the travelling vehicle are connected by communication lines 103 with couplers 130a and 130b and the control state of an opposite party can be mutually monitored. At the time of inspection, the communication lines 103 of the two microcomputer units 101 and 102 are connected through the couplers 133a and 133b and an interface unit 131 to a different general purpose computer 134 and the control states of the respective microcomputer units themselves are inspected by test programs stored in the respective microcomputer units 101 and 1U2 beforehand.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inspection device of a control device for controlling traveling of an automatic traveling vehicle such as an automatic traveling type chemical sprayer (speed sprayer) in an orchard.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an automatic traveling type chemical spraying machine (speed sprayer) or the like in an orchard or the like, when an operator executes a chemical spraying work while riding on a traveling vehicle,
Considering that the worker may be exposed to chemicals and may be harmful to health, the steered wheels of the traveling vehicle are set so that the traveling vehicle travels along the work route (guide route) in an unmanned state. The chemicals are sprayed while changing the direction of the steering wheel while controlling the steering (see Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2-84909).

In this case, it is necessary to simultaneously control a plurality of input / output devices for controlling the steering device, the traveling clutch device, the braking device, the chemical spraying, and the like. Therefore, one microcomputer unit cannot control quickly. In order to eliminate this inconvenience, the present applicant previously provided in Japanese Patent Application No. 4-60366 with two microcomputer units, and one microcomputer unit controls the steering device and turns on the fuel supply means to the engine. It is turned off, and the other microcomputer unit has a role division so as to control the traveling clutch device and the brake device. Then, it has been proposed that two microcomputer units are connected by a communication circuit, the operating states of the other are monitored, and an emergency stop is made when the other party has an abnormality.

[0004]

However, if an abnormality occurs in the microcomputer unit once, 2
It is necessary to diagnose which one is abnormal, because one microcomputer unit is replaced and the normal one is wasted. The present invention has a technical problem to make this diagnosis easy and quick.

[0005]

In order to solve this problem, according to the present invention, a traveling device in an automatic traveling vehicle and a control device for controlling an automatic steering device and a working unit for the traveling device are provided as two microcomputer units. And a part of the plurality of input / output devices and the other part are connected so as to be shared by the respective microcomputer units and controlled, and both microcomputer units are connected by a communication line with a coupler. While being configured to be able to mutually monitor the control status of each other, at the time of inspection, the communication lines of the two microcomputer units are connected to another general-purpose computer via an interface unit and stored in advance in each microcomputer unit. Depending on the test program It is obtained by configured to inspect the control state of its own.

[0006]

EXAMPLE Next, an example in which the present invention is applied to an automatic traveling type chemical sprayer (speed sprayer) will be described. The speed sprayer has a driving operation unit 2 provided with a handle 3 on the front side of a traveling vehicle 1. The traveling vehicle 1 has a chemical liquid tank 4
And a spraying part 5 at the rear part.

The spray unit 5 is provided with a large number of spray nozzles 6 facing the outer peripheral surface of the traveling vehicle 1 excluding the lower surface at an appropriate interval in a radially outward direction, and a blower 7 for sending air in the radially outward direction,
The spray nozzle 6 can be spray-controlled so as to perform spraying work in each of the three sections on the left and right and the upper surface of the traveling vehicle 1 or the two sections on the left and right. Reference numerals 8 and 8 are left and right front wheels,
Reference numerals 9 and 9 denote left and right rear wheels, and these four wheels are of a so-called four-wheel drive type in which power from the engine 10 is transmitted via the traveling speed change mechanism 11 to be driven.
The power from 0 drives the blower 7 via the PTO output speed change transmission mechanism 12 and drives the dynamic injection pump 13 for the spray nozzle 6.

The steering device 14 with the steering wheel 3 is a power steering mechanism 15 including a mechanical or hydraulic system as shown in FIG. 3. The power steering mechanism 15 is a double-acting hydraulic cylinder 17 in a hydraulic circuit 16. When actuated and the hydraulic cylinder 17 extends, the rear wheels 9, 9 are turned to the left through the bell crank 18 having a W-shape in plan view, and the connecting rod 19 and the bell crank 20 having a V-shape in plan view are used. The front wheels 8 and 8 are changed to the right (when the hydraulic cylinder 17 is contracted, the front wheels are changed to the left and the rear wheels are changed to the right). It is a wheel steering type.

The hydraulic circuit 16 is shown in FIG.
Is an electromagnetic solenoid type control valve for the hydraulic cylinder 17 for automatic steering. Reference numeral 29 is an electromagnetic solenoid type control valve for controlling the hydraulic cylinder 30 as an actuator for operating the traveling clutch and the brake.
Is a control valve used in the case of manual steering operation. The control valves 29 and 28 are connected to a hydraulic pipe 31 branched from an upstream side of the control valve 23 for manual steering when hydraulic oil is fed from the hydraulic pump 22, and further, control valves for running clutch and brake operation. 29 is connected in series so as to be located upstream of the control valve 28 for automatic steering.

Therefore, when the control valve 29 is operated to a position other than the neutral position in order to operate the traveling clutch and the brake, the hydraulic cylinder 30 is preferentially operated, and the operation of the steering hydraulic cylinder 17 is secondary. To be the target.
During manual steering, the oil sent from the hydraulic pump 22 is sent to the hydraulic motor 21 via the control valve 23 so that the amount of oil sent from the hydraulic motor 21 is proportional to the turning angle of the handle 3. And sends this oil to a double-acting hydraulic cylinder 17 attached to the steering mechanism 15. During automatic steering control, hydraulic fluid is sent from the hydraulic pump 22 to the hydraulic cylinder 17 via the neutral position of the control valve 29 and the electromagnetic solenoid type control valve 28.

Reference numeral 25 is a steering angle sensor such as a potentiometer capable of detecting the steering angle of the front wheels 8. In this case, the average value of the orientation angles of the left and right wheels may be obtained and detected. The front wheels and the rear wheels may be connected via separate hydraulic cylinder power steering mechanisms so that the front wheels and the rear wheels can be individually steered. On the lower surface of the traveling vehicle 1, a pair of left and right magnetic sensors 26a, 26
b is provided. The magnetic sensors 26a and 26b may be pickup coils in which conductors are wound in a coil shape, or may be Hall elements, Hall ICs, magnetoresistive elements, or magnetic transistors. By an alternating current of appropriate frequency applied to 27,
The strength of the AC magnetic field generated around the induction cable 27 can be detected. Induction cable 27
Will be laid in the trench formed along the guide route, which is the working route of the orchard, or will be buried underground.

Another embodiment of the means for detecting along the guide path is to detect a sign or a grove provided along the guide path by a sensor such as an ultrasonic sensor or an infrared sensor. Is also good. FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the spray section 5, in which the liquid chemical from the chemical liquid tank 4 enters the dynamic injection pump 13 via the tank drain valve 32 and the filter 33, and the chemical liquid distributor via the main valve 34 and the pipe 35. 36 to the spray nozzle 6 in each direction via the left, right, and center (upper) switching valves 37, 38, 39. The switching valves 37, 38, 39 have switching operation motors 37a, 38, respectively.
a and 39a are provided, and it is possible to select spraying the chemical liquid only in a predetermined direction depending on the positional relationship between the traveling direction of the traveling vehicle and the object to be sprayed (tree). Note that reference numeral 40
Is a pressure regulating valve, and reference numeral 41 is a stop valve connected to the correction spraying discharge pipe 42. A hose (not shown) is connected to the tip of the pipe 42 to manually spray trees that have not been sprayed with the chemical solution.

When a key is inserted into a key switch provided on an operation panel (not shown) in the driving operation section 2 and the key is rotated at a predetermined angle at the time of starting, the control device 100 described later stands up (starts up) and is in a ready state for execution. (Standby state). Then, when it is further rotated by a predetermined angle, the starter motor is activated to operate the engine. As the automatic mode setting switch 46, an alternate push button switch is used as an example. Therefore, the pressed state (ON state) is held by the first pressing. When the automatic mode setting switch 46 is pressed again, the protruding state (OFF state) is restored. The current control state and instructions to the operator are displayed on the display unit such as a liquid crystal display device by characters or figures.
Reference numeral 49 is a shift switch for the operator to separately confirm his / her intention, and the push button switch portion is covered with a transparent openable / closable cover body. Press the section. To switch from the automatic mode to the manual mode, and vice versa, in addition to the operation of the automatic mode setting switch 46, the operation of the shift switch 49 is executed under the clear intention of the operator. By doing so, mode switching can be realized.

When the automatic mode is set,
The automatic mode lamp 47 is turned on, and when the manual mode is set, the automatic mode lamp 47 is turned off. FIG. 6 shows a functional block diagram of the control device 100 when the control of the traveling vehicle is executed by software of the microcomputer unit,
Two microcomputer units (MPU) 10
Although not shown, each microcomputer unit (MPU) 101, 102 includes a central processing unit (CPU), a readable / writable memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an interface, and the like.

Further, the two MPUs 101, 102 are formed in the same form (the same component, the same component), have the same control program, but can be exchanged with each other with different control coefficients. In order to distinguish the MPUs of the above, the determination port 104 of one MPU 101 is a low port, and the determination port 105 of the other MPU 102 is
Is a high port.

Further, the two MPUs 101, 102
The couplers 130a, 1a connect one transmission terminal TxD for serial communication to the other reception terminal RxD and the other transmission terminal TxD for one reception terminal RxD.
The communication lines 103 and 103 which can be separated via 30b are connected (see FIG. 7) to mutually monitor whether or not the control on the other side is normally operating. Therefore, the control program in each MPU is provided with a check routine for checking the control flow on the other side.

An operation switch (manual operation switch) 10 for switching the operation section (left side, upper side, right side) of the spray nozzle 6 is provided at the input port of one MPU 101.
6, 107 and 108 terminals and the shift switch 4
9 terminals, a fan clutch operation switch 109 terminal for disconnecting power transmission to the blower 7, and a plurality of channels from the remote operation transmitter 110 (six channels in the embodiment).
An output signal terminal of each channel of the receiver 111 for receiving a command signal by the receiver and a reception monitor output terminal, and a pair of left and right obstacle detection sensors 112a mounted on the front part of the traveling vehicle 1.
The terminal 112b, the output terminal of the chemical solution sensor 113 for detecting the presence or absence of chemical solution in the chemical solution tank, or the size of the chemical solution (full or empty) and the terminal of the automatic mode setting switch 46 are connected to input signals. .

Further, the output ports of the MPU 101 are connected to the switching operation motors 37a, 38a, 39a of the switching valves 37, 38, 39 for supplying the chemical liquid for each of the operation sections (left side, upper side, right side) of the spray nozzle 6. Terminal, an electromagnetic solenoid terminal of an electromagnetic control valve 29 for the hydraulic cylinder 30 for automatic operation of the traveling clutch and brake, a terminal of an electric cylinder 114 for operating a fan clutch for interrupting power transmission to the blower 7, and a dynamic injection pump. Signals are output by connecting the terminals of the relays 115 that permit the operation of 13 respectively.

At the input port of the other MPU 102, the terminal of the automatic mode setting switch 46, the output signal terminal of each channel of the receiver 111, and the main speed change lever of the traveling speed change mechanism 11 are in the retracted position. Is attached to the front of the front bumper of the traveling vehicle 1 to stop traveling when an obstacle comes into contact with the terminal of the restraining switch 91 for detecting For touch sensor 116
, A terminal of a stroke sensor 117 for detecting the maximum protruding position of the stroke of the piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder 17 for steering, terminals of magnetic sensors 26a, 26b for detecting the magnetism from the induction cable 27, and However, in order to effectively spray the chemical liquid to the mountain-side inclined surface and the valley-side standing tree, the directions of the spray nozzles 6 on the left and right sides are adjusted on a plane intersecting the traveling axis of the traveling vehicle 1. A signal is input by connecting the terminal of the switch 118 for activating the spray nozzle orientation changing actuator and the terminal of the rotation speed detector 119 of the engine 10, respectively.
Further, the output port of the MPU 102 has terminals of the operation permitting relay 120 of the engine 10, terminals of various pilot lamps 121, terminals of a monitor lamp 122 capable of confirming the reception monitor state of the receiver 111, and in the automatic mode. The terminal of the automatic mode lamp 47 for confirming the state, the terminal 28 of the electromagnetic solenoid of the control valve 28 for steering
The R and 28L terminals are connected to each other to output a signal.

During normal control operation, the harness (communication
After branching by connection, each microcomputer unit
101 transmits the ASCII character string “cu” to the transmission terminal TxD.
0 ok "is output while the microcomputer unit
ASCII character string “CU” to the transmission terminal TxD of the computer 102.
1 ok ”is output.
Knit 101 is “CU Receive 1ok ”normally
And "cu After sending "0 ok" three times, branch check
Exit the routine and branch to the normal control routine. Normal system
Between the microcomputer units after branching the control routine
When communication is abnormal, "cu Control 0 ok "
Send once for each loop.

In the microcomputer 102, the "CU
Check the received data while sending "1ok". "Cu If "OK" is received normally, "CU 1
After sending "ok" three times, the program exits the branch check routine and branches to the normal control routine. When communication between microcomputer units is abnormal after branching the normal control routine, "CU" 1 ok ”is transmitted once for each control loop.

Next, the case of diagnosing the failure of the MPUs 101 and 102 will be described. As shown in FIG. 8, the communication lines 103 and 103 in the two MPUs 101 and 102 are shown.
Are temporarily removed at the couplers 130a and 130b, and the communication lines 132a and 13a in the interface unit 131 are disconnected.
It is reconnected to the couplers 133a and 133b of 2b. As a result, one microcomputer unit 101
The transmission terminal TxD for serial communication in is directly connected to the reception terminal RxD in the other microcomputer unit 102, and the interface unit 13
The transmission terminal TxD for serial communication in 1 is connected to the reception terminal RxD in one microcomputer unit 101, and the transmission terminal TxD in the other microcomputer unit 102 is connected to the reception terminal RxD in the interface unit 131. . Then, the interface unit 131 and the general-purpose computer 134 are connected by the communication line 135.

Each of the two microcomputer units 101 and 102 has a built-in test program in advance. When predetermined data is input from the general-purpose computer 134, the control routine is exited and the test routine is started to start the test. be able to. In this case, the input signal from the general-purpose computer can send a selection of the type of each input device or output device and a predetermined inspection signal (data) by a simple numeral or alphabetic single or combination symbol.

For example, as the general-purpose computer 134,
Input from the keyboard using the MSDOS 16-bit personal computer, which is installed in many countries in Japan.
For example, in the microcomputer unit 101,
chk If "0" is entered, the microcomputer unit 101
2 against "chk # 0 "is transmitted three times to branch to the shared test program. Then, in the microcomputer unit 102," CU "is sent. Check the received data while sending "10K" When # 0 "is received, it branches to the data echo back routine. In the data echo back routine, only when there is an error in communication,
It resets the communication error and normally sends the received data as it is to the other party. In addition, in the microcomputer unit 101, "CHK When "# 1" is received, the process branches to the data echo back routine, and the microcomputer 102 issues "CHK". When "# 1" is received, "CU After transmitting 10K ″ three times, the process branches to the common test program.

In this way, for example, the output value of the control for the input signal of each input device (for example, the signal of the magnetic sensor in the microcomputer unit 102) (for example, the output value to the control valve for the hydraulic cylinder for steering).
Can be tested for normality. The same applies to the output signal of the output device. These test results (test data) are stored in the memory of the general-purpose computer and are output by an output device such as a CRT (display device) or a printer. The abnormality can be easily discriminated.

[0026]

In summary, according to the present invention,
A traveling device in an automatic traveling vehicle and a control device for controlling an automatic steering device and a working unit for the traveling device are configured by two microcomputer units, and a part of a plurality of input / output devices and another part are respectively provided. The microcomputer units are connected so as to be shared and controlled, and both microcomputer units are connected by a communication line with a coupler so that the control states of the other parties can be mutually monitored. The communication line of one microcomputer unit is connected to another general-purpose computer via the interface unit, and the control program of each microcomputer unit is inspected by the test program stored in advance in each microcomputer unit. Because it is a thing, normal control By constantly monitoring the operation of the microcomputer unit of the counterpart at the time of operation, in response to the occurrence of malfunction in comparison with the case the microcomputer unit is one, accidents such as runaway of the traveling vehicle can be prevented. Further, since a plurality of input / output devices are shared and controlled, the response of the control can be speeded up.

When inspecting the microcomputer unit, since a test program is stored in advance in each microcomputer unit, a predetermined command signal or the like is input by using a general-purpose microcomputer having no diagnostic test program. Only by doing so, the self-diagnosis can be executed by the two microcomputer units themselves, and it is possible to diagnose the failure of the microcomputer unit quickly and easily.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a drug spraying machine.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the medicine spraying machine.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of a steering device 14.

FIG. 4 is a control hydraulic circuit diagram of a steering device and the like.

FIG. 5 is a mechanism block diagram of a spraying unit.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of a control device.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a connection state of two microcomputer units.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a connection state of each unit at the time of diagnosis.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Traveling Vehicle 3 Handle 6 Spray Nozzle 7 Blower 8, 8 Front Wheel 9, 9 Rear Wheel 10 Engine 11 Travel Speed Change Mechanism 12 Power Transmission Mechanism 13 Dynamic Injection Pump 14 Steering Device 16 Hydraulic Circuit 17 Hydraulic Cylinder 22 Hydraulic Pump 23 Control Valve 26a, 26b Magnetic sensor 27 Induction cable 28 Control valve for automatic steering 29 Control valve 30 Hydraulic cylinder 100 Control device 101, 102 MPU 103, 132a, 132b Communication line 130a, 130b, 133a, 133b Coupler 131 Interface unit 134 General-purpose computer

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yukio Murai 1-32 Chayamachi, Kita-ku, Osaka Yanmar Agricultural Machinery Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A traveling device in an automatic traveling vehicle and a control device for controlling an automatic steering device and a working unit for the traveling device are constituted by two microcomputer units, and a part of a plurality of input / output devices and others. While connecting each part to each microcomputer unit to control it, and connecting both microcomputer units by a communication line with a coupler so as to mutually monitor the control state of the other, At the time of inspection, the communication lines of the two microcomputer units are connected to another general-purpose computer via an interface unit, and the control state of each microcomputer unit is inspected by a test program stored in advance in each microcomputer unit. It is characterized by being configured to Inspection device for control device in automated vehicle.