Travel control device for work vehicle, and work vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10101740-B2
Application number	US-201515500149-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 20, 2015
Priority date	Sep 29, 2014
Publication date	Oct 16, 2018
Grant date	Oct 16, 2018

Abstract

The travel control system includes: a travel zone holding unit configured to hold a travel zone which is set in a particular travel area set beforehand and over which a dump truck is to autonomously travel; a target position setting unit configured to set, on an outer side of the particular travel area, a target position that the dump truck is to reach; a distance measurement unit configured to measure a traveling distance of the dump truck from a position of the dump truck as acquired using a position acquisition device provided in the dump truck to the target position set by the target position setting unit; and an autonomous travel control unit configured to control the dump truck so that the dump truck moves to an outer side of a travel zone held by the travel zone holding unit and autonomously travels the traveling distance.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A travel control system for a work vehicle that is connected via a wireless communication network to a traffic control server, which performs operation management, and in accordance with an instruction from the traffic control server, autonomously travels in a particular travel area specified beforehand, said travel control system being to be provided in the work vehicle to control a travel of the work vehicle, and comprising:
a travel zone holding unit configured to hold a travel zone which is set in the particular travel area and over which the work vehicle is to autonomously travel;
a target position setting unit configured to set, on an outer side of the particular travel area, a target position that the work vehicle is to reach;
a distance measurement unit configured to measure a traveling distance of the work vehicle from a position of the work vehicle as acquired using a position acquisition device provided in the work vehicle to the target position set by the target position setting unit; and
an autonomous travel control unit configured to control the work vehicle so that the work vehicle moves to an outer side of the travel zone held by the travel zone holding unit and autonomously travels the traveling distance, which has been measured by the distance measurement unit, toward the target position.

2. The travel control system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the travel zone is defined using plural nodes, which indicate individual points along a travel route of the work vehicle, and links connecting the individual nodes; and
the target position setting unit comprises:
a stop target object detection unit configured to detect a stop target object that serves as an object for stopping the work vehicle,
a node setting unit configured to set a first one of the plural nodes, said first node being to be passed through when the work vehicle moves to the outer side of the travel zone, and
an intersection setting unit configured to set, as the target position, an intersection between a line, which is connected by a second one of the plural nodes, said second node being other than the first node set by the node setting unit, and the first node, and the stop target object detected by the stop target object detection unit.

3. The travel control system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the target position setting unit comprises:
a stop target object detection unit configured to detect a stop target object that serves as an object for stopping the work vehicle, and
a specific point setting unit configured to set, as the target position, a specific point on the stop target object detected by the stop target object detection unit; and
the autonomous travel control unit comprises:
an inclination computing unit configured to compute an inclination to an axle of the work vehicle at the stop target object detected by the stop target object detection unit,
wherein, when the work vehicle has moved to the outer side of the travel zone held by the travel zone holding unit and has reached the target position, the work vehicle is allowed to autonomously travel so that the inclination computed by the inclination computing unit becomes smaller.

4. The travel control system according to claim 2 , wherein:
the second node is another one of the plural nodes, said another node being adjacent the first node set by the node setting unit.

5. The travel control system according to claim 2 , wherein:
the autonomous travel control unit allows the work vehicle to reach the intersection while being allowed to reverse, when the work vehicle moves to the outer side of the travel zone held by the travel zone holding unit.

6. A work vehicle that is connected via a wireless communication network to a traffic control server, which performs operation management, and in accordance with an instruction from the traffic control server, autonomously travels in a particular travel area specified beforehand, said work vehicle comprising:
a position acquisition device configured to acquire a position of the own vehicle;
a travel zone holding unit configured to hold a travel zone which is set in the particular travel area and over which the work vehicle is to autonomously travel;
a target position setting unit configured to set, on an outer side of the particular travel area, a target position that the work vehicle is to reach;
a distance measurement unit configured to measure a traveling distance of the work vehicle from the position of the work vehicle as acquired by the position acquisition device to the target position set by the target position setting unit; and
an autonomous travel control unit configure to control the work vehicle so that the work vehicle moves to an outer side of the travel zone held by the travel zone holding unit and autonomously travels the traveling distance, which has been measured by the distance measurement unit, toward the target position.

Assignees

• Hitachi Construction Mach Co

Inventors

• Tanaka Wataru
• Ichinose Masanori
• Saito Shinjiro

Classifications

• E02F9/26

  Indicating devices {(E02F5/145 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• E02F9/20

  Drives; Control devices (gearings in general F16H; controlling in general G05; electric multi-motor drives H02K, H02P) · CPC title

• E02F9/2045

  Guiding machines along a predetermined path (for graders E02F3/841; machines for construction of roads E01C19/004) · CPC title

• E02F9/205

  Remotely operated machines, e.g. unmanned vehicles (E02F3/8866 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G05D1/00

  Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots (drive control systems specially adapted for autonomous road vehicles B60W60/00) · CPC title