JPH10276509A - Work machine sub-controller - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] In a working machine such as a tractor, there is a case where a working device is provided as an accessory corresponding to various works, for example, a fertilizer or a fertilizer is provided in a rotary working machine. The working device required individual sensors and actuators. For this reason, the control unit of the tractor needs to be provided with a large number of input terminals or output terminals in advance so as to be compatible with the attached working device to be mounted, and this has caused a problem of increasing the cost of the tractor. When the fertilizer application device is mounted on a rotary device of a tractor, a sub-controller includes a communication interface (62) for communicating with the controller (8) of the tractor and a signal input by the communication interface (62). CPU 64 that performs arithmetic processing
And an RA for storing the result of the arithmetic processing as work data.
An M card 57B and an output interface 60 for driving the electric motors 41 mounted on the working machine according to the signal processing result are provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sub-controller for various working machines such as a work vehicle and a machine tool.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a work machine is provided with a setting device for setting a target value of work and a detecting device for grasping a work state, and a signal is inputted from these devices, and the input signal is inputted to the work machine. Some have a control unit for driving an actuator provided in the work machine in response. There has been a work machine data collection device that is provided with a communication unit with a control unit of the work machine, stores the work state of the work machine, and manages future work.

For example, in a data collection system for an agricultural machine disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-068274, a portable management terminal device and a tractor controller are connected via a communication interface, and the working state of the tractor is changed. For example, there is a technology that stores a working time, a traveling distance, a fuel consumption amount, and the like in a RAM card of a management terminal device to use in a future work.

[0004]

However, in the working machine such as the tractor, there is a case where a working device is provided as an accessory corresponding to various works, for example, a fertilizer or a fertilizer is provided in a rotary working machine. Such an accessory working device requires an individual sensor or actuator. For this reason, the control unit of the work machine needs to be provided with a large number of input terminals or output terminals in advance so as to be compatible with the attached work device to be mounted. This causes a problem that the work machine is expensive in terms of cost. there were.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a sub-controller for a working machine as follows. That is, various setting devices 1 to 3,
And a communication means 62 for communicating with the control unit 8 of the work machine, which receives signals from the detection devices 4 to 7 and drives the work machine actuators 21 and 26S according to the signals. An arithmetic processing unit 64 for arithmetically processing the signal input by the means 62; a storage device 57B for storing the arithmetic processing result as work data; and an auxiliary actuator 41, 41 attached to the work machine according to the signal processing result. And a sub-controller for a working machine including an output means 60 for driving the motor.

[0006]

The sub-controller of the work machine constructed as described above is connected to various work machines by the communication means 62 to input various settings or work states of the work machine, and After the calculation by the calculation processing section 64, the calculation result is stored as work data. In addition, the operation is performed by driving the actuators 41, 41 of the accessory working device connected to the sub-controller according to the calculation result. As a result, in the working machine, it is not necessary to provide a large number of output terminals in advance corresponding to the accessory working devices as described above, and this production cost can be suppressed as much as possible.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
Agricultural tractor (hereinafter, tractor 10) which is a working machine
Will be described. Tractor 10
As shown in FIG. 2, a clutch housing, a front transmission case 12F, and a rear transmission case 12R are integrally connected from an engine 11, front wheels 14 are provided on the front left and right of the vehicle body, and rear wheels 15 are provided on the rear left and right. , 15 are provided. Then, the vehicle travels in a two-wheel drive state in which the rotational power of the engine 11 is decelerated by the transmissions 13 and 13 and only the rear wheels 15 and 15 are driven, or in a four-wheel drive state in which the front and rear wheels 15, 15 and 14 and 14 are driven. Configuration. And
A Doppler type vehicle speed sensor 6 which is a vehicle speed detecting device of the tractor 10 is provided at a lower portion of the front transmission case 12F, and a slope sensor 7 which is a front, rear, left and right inclination detecting device of the tractor 10 is provided at an upper portion of the case 12F. I have.

Around the cockpit 16 of the tractor 10,
It is surrounded by a cabin 28 to form a cockpit.
A steering handle 29 is provided in front of the cockpit 16 to steer the front wheels 14, 14 by operating the handle. Also, beside the cockpit 16, a shift lever 17 for switching the transmission 13,
A position lever 18 for changing the height of a rotary work machine 24 described later is provided. A potentiometer 3 which is a position setting device for the working machine 24 is provided at the rotation base of the position lever 18. Also, beside the cockpit 16
A tillage depth setting device 1 as a tillage depth setting device of the rotary work machine 24 and a horizontal inclination setting device 2 as a left and right inclination setting device of the work machine are provided. The setting devices 1 and 2 and the potentiometer 3 are connected to the tractor 1 provided below the cockpit 16.
0 is connected to the controller 8 which is a control unit.

Rear transmission case 12 of tractor 10
Lift arms 19, 19 are provided on the left and right sides on the rear upper surface.
A cylinder case 20 having
The lift arms 19 are rotated by extending and retracting a piston of an elevating cylinder 21 which is an actuator for changing the height of a working machine 24 provided inside. A lift arm angle sensor 4 for detecting the rotation angle is provided at the rotation base of the lift arm 19 on one side.

The height of the working machine 24 connected to the lift arms 19, 19 by extending and retracting the piston of the lift cylinder 21 so that the set angle of the potentiometer 3 of the position lever 18 and the angle of the lift arm 19 match. It is configured to perform position control for changing the position. Further, a top link 22 and left and right lower links 23, 23 are provided at a rear portion of the rear transmission case 12R, and the left lift arm 19 and the left lower link 23 are connected by a rod 26R. Rolling cylinder 26 which is an actuator for changing the lower link 23 of the working machine 24 to the left and right inclination posture of the working machine 24
The cylinder 26 is provided with a stroke sensor 27 for detecting the length of expansion and contraction of the piston. The rotary working machine 24 is connected to the tips of these links 22, 23, 23. An upper part of the rotary working machine 24 has a fertilizer application device 25 as an accessory working device.
Is provided.

The rotary work machine 24 extracts power from a PTO shaft 30 projecting from the back of the tractor 10 via a universal joint, and transmits this rotational power to a tilling shaft 33 having a tilling claw 32 to be driven. Cultivates the field. A rotary cover 34 is provided above the tilling shaft 33, and a rear cover 35 is rotatably provided at the rear end. At the rear of the rotary cover 34, there is provided a tillage depth sensor 5 which is a detecting device for detecting the rotation angle of the rear cover 35.
Is transmitted indirectly via the link mechanism to detect the tillage depth H indirectly.

[0012] Thereby, during the work, the tillage depth setting device 1
And the height of the work implement 24 is changed by driving the elevating cylinder 21 so that the value set in the above step and the detection value of the tillage depth sensor 5 match. Further, the slope sensor 7 and the stroke sensor 27 are controlled so as to maintain the target angle of the work implement 24 set by the tilt setting device 2.
, The relative angle between the tractor 10 and the work implement 24 is compared, and rolling control is performed by expanding and contracting the piston of the rolling cylinder 26S.

The fertilizer applicator 25 includes a hopper 4 for storing fertilizer.
0, two left and right electric motors 41, 41 as attached actuators for feeding fertilizer from the lower part of the hopper 40;
It is composed of a guide hose 42 for guiding the fertilizer into the rotary cover 34, a mounting member thereof, and the like. Then, the fertilizer is sent out immediately before the rotary work machine 24 by the rotation of the electric motor 41, and the fertilizer is sent to the rotary work machine 2.
4 stirs into the soil. Also,
At the upper end of the guide hose 42, a clogging sensor 43 which is turned on when fertilizer is clogged in the hose 42 is provided.

The controller 8 of the tractor 10 will be described with reference to FIG. The controller 8 stores therein a CPU 45 serving as an arithmetic processing unit for various signals, a RAM 46 for temporarily storing this information, a ROM 47 for storing control programs such as the tillage depth control and the rolling control, and a control program for communication. The communication ROM 48 is provided. Also, the input interface 49
And setting devices such as a tillage depth setting device 1, a horizontal inclination setting device 2, a potentiometer 3, and detection devices such as a lift arm angle sensor 4, a tillage depth sensor 5, a vehicle speed sensor 6, a slope sensor 7, and a stroke sensor 27. Are connected. The output interface 50 includes a solenoid 36 of a switching control valve that extends the piston of the lifting / lowering cylinder 21 to raise the working machine 24, and a solenoid 37 of a switching control valve that shortens the piston of the cylinder 21 to lower the working machine 24. A solenoid 38 of a switching control valve that shortens the piston of the rolling cylinder 26S and raises the right side of the working machine 24, and a solenoid 39 of a switching control valve that extends the piston of the cylinder 26S and lowers the right side of the working machine 24. Are connected. Further, the controller 8 is provided with a communication interface 51 which is a means for communicating with an external device.

Next, a portable management terminal device 9 as a sub-controller will be described with reference to FIGS.
The management terminal device 9 includes a liquid crystal screen 5 serving as a display unit on the front of the main body.
3, an input keyboard 54 including power ON / OFF switches 55 and 56, alphabet keys, work start and end keys, and the like. On one side of the main body, there are provided a ROM card insertion opening 58A for inserting a ROM card 57A storing various control programs, and a RAM card insertion opening 58B for inserting a RAM card 57B which is a storage device for storing work data. I have. Further, output terminals 59A, 59A for connecting the electric motors 41, 41 as the actuators of the fertilizer device 25 and input terminals 59B for connecting the clog sensor 43 as the detection device are provided. On the other side, a communication connection terminal 61 which is a part of a communication interface 62 for communicating with the controller 8 of the tractor 10 is provided.

The control unit 63 inside the management terminal device 9
A CPU 64 for arithmetically processing various types of input information, a RAM 65 for temporarily storing this information, a ROM 66 for storing a control program, etc., and an input interface 67 for connecting the input keyboard 54 and the clog sensor 43.
And an output interface 60 for connecting the liquid crystal screen 53 and the output terminal 59A.

A case in which fertilization work is performed using the terminal device 9 of the tractor 10 configured as described above will be described. First, the terminal device 9 stores the fertilizer application control program in the R
The OM card 57A and the RAM card 57B for storing fertilizer application amount and the like are mounted. Then, the communication interface 51 of the controller 8 and the communication interface 62 of the terminal device 9 are connected via a communication harness 68,
The clogging sensor 43 of the fertilizer application device 25 is connected to the input terminal 59B of the terminal device 9. Also, the output terminals 59A, 59
A is connected to the electric motors 41 of the fertilizer application device 25. Then, the electrical systems of the tractor 10 and the terminal device 9 are turned on. Here, the tractor 10 and the terminal device 9
Control units 8 and 63 read the state of various sensors and actuators and the state of connection with external communication devices.

Next, on the liquid crystal screen 53 of the terminal device 9, a setting screen for a field management number, a target fertilizer application amount, and a spray width to be worked on is displayed, and the set values are input in accordance with the guidance. . The CPU 64 of the terminal device 9 calculates the driving speed of the electric motors 41 with respect to the vehicle speed, that is, the amount of fertilizer application, and periodically inputs the vehicle speed of the tractor 10 and the lift arm angle from the communication interface 51.

Then, the operator descends the work machine 24 and travels on the tractor 10. Control unit 63 of terminal device 9
When a detection signal indicating that the detection value of the lift arm angle sensor 4 is equal to or smaller than a preset angle is input, the operation is determined to be started and the electric motors 41, 41 are started to be driven. At the same time, the rotation speed is changed according to the vehicle speed value detected by the vehicle speed sensor 6. That is, when the tractor 10 is traveling at a low speed, the rotation speed of the electric motor 41 is reduced, and the driving speed of the motor 41 is increased as the traveling speed increases. Thereby, the amount of fertilizer application per unit area can be made uniform. In addition, the travel distance and the application amount are stored in a RAM card. When the ON signal from the clogging sensor 43 is input during the application of the fertilizer, the work machine 24 of the tractor 10 is raised via the communication interfaces 62 and 51 and an alarm is sounded.

As described above, the terminal device 9 of the tractor 10
Is provided with a communication interface 62, enables communication with the controller 8 of the tractor 10, and inputs the work information of the tractor 10 to connect the electric motor 41 connected to the terminal device 9.
Was configured to be drivable according to the work. The input interface 67 is configured to connect the clog sensor 43, and the lifting cylinder 21 of the tractor 10 is controlled in accordance with the working state.

Thus, conventionally, when the auxiliary working device such as the fertilizer device 25 is mounted on the rotary working machine 24, the operator of the fertilizer device 25, that is, the electric motor, is manually operated regardless of the working state of the tractor 10. Although there is the trouble of switching on and off the operations of 41, 41, this can be solved. Also, the tractor 10
It is not necessary to provide a large number of input terminals in the controller 8 corresponding to various operations, and the production cost of the tractor 10 can be suppressed as much as possible.

By the way, as described above, it is necessary to connect various sensors and actuators to the tractor 10 as the working device is connected to the tractor 10. In addition, the controller 8 of the tractor 10 needs a large-capacity storage device for storing various control programs and a signal processing device for processing signals at high speed in order to perform these processes.

However, if a large-capacity storage device for storing these various control programs or an arithmetic processing unit for performing high-speed processing is provided, there is a problem that the production cost of the tractor 10 increases. Therefore, as shown in the block diagram of FIG. 6, the controller 8 of the tractor 10 is provided with an input interface 70 dedicated to the terminal device 9 and an output interface 71 dedicated to the terminal device. The electric motors 41, 41 are driven in accordance with the work state, and the tractor is controlled by the ON signal of the clogging sensor 43. That is, the control unit 63 of the terminal device 9 recognizes the connection state with the controller 8 of the tractor 10 when the power is turned on.
Periodically with the start of the operation, the lift arm angle sensor 4
And information on the vehicle speed sensor 6 are input. Then, the calculation result is transmitted to the tractor 10 controller 8 again to drive the electric motors 41, 41. When an ON signal is input from the clogging sensor 43, the work machine 24 is raised or an alarm is sounded.

Thus, in the tractor 10, by providing the input interface 70 and the output interface 71 for the terminal device, the signal processing of the attached working device is processed by the terminal device 9, so that the tractor 10 There is no need to provide a storage device with a large storage capacity or a CPU that performs high-speed processing, and the production cost of the tractor 10 can be minimized.

In the claims, the reference numerals of the members corresponding to the configuration of the embodiment are attached, but the reference numerals are not intended to limit the present invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a connection between a controller of a tractor and a terminal device.

FIG. 2 is an overall side view of the tractor.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the terminal device.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a terminal device.

FIG. 5 is a right side view of the terminal device.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram when a tractor is provided with a terminal input / output interface.

[Description of Signs] 1 Plowing depth setting device 2 Horizontal inclination setting device 3 Potentiometer 4 Lift arm angle sensor 5 Plowing depth sensor 6 Vehicle speed sensor 7 Slope sensor 8 Controller 10 Tractor 21 Hydraulic cylinder for lifting and lowering work equipment 26S Rolling cylinder 24 Rotary work Machine 25 fertilizer application device 41 electric motor 57B RAM card 60 output interface 62 communication interface 64 CPU

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Various setting devices 1 to 3 and a detecting device 4 to
7 to the control unit 8 of the work machine that drives the work machine actuators 21 and 26S in accordance with the signal. An arithmetic processing unit 64 for arithmetically processing signals; a storage device 57B for storing the arithmetic processing results as work data; and an output unit 60 for driving the attached actuators 41 attached to the work machine in accordance with the signal processing results. A sub-controller of a work machine comprising: