Patent Description:
<CIT> discloses a configuration of a work management system in which operation data of agricultural machines is transmitted to a server and the server specifies the maintenance interval of each agricultural machine on the basis of the operation data.

<CIT> discloses a work machine having an autonomous travel function that includes: a cutting section that cuts a work target of the work machine; an image-capturing section that captures an image of the work target cut by the cutting section; and a judging section that judges a state of the cutting section based on the image captured by the image-capturing section. The judging section may judge whether maintenance of or a check on the cutting section is necessary or not based on a result of judgment about the state of the cutting section.

However, in a field rental service (hereinafter, "rental farm") for enjoying vegetable cultivation by renting a field, use of an automated work machine that automatically performs predetermined work creates a need for scheduling of work performed by the automated work machine rather than scheduling of the maintenance interval in which the automated work machine does not perform work.

For example, in confliction between the scheduled work time during which the user arrives at the work area of the rental farm and performs work in the work area and the work time during which the automated work machine performs work, even if the user visits the rental farm, the user may fail to perform the work in a situation where the automated work machine is at work in the work area.

The present invention has been made in view of the above issues, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automated work technique enabling generation of a schedule on the basis of a scheduled work time during which a user arrives at a work area and performs work in the work area or a time slot during which the user is not in the work area.

An automated work system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a control apparatus capable of controlling an automated work machine that performs work in a work area, the automated work system including:.

the generation unit generates the schedule such that the work including a step different from a step completed among the plurality of steps is performed after end of the scheduled work time.

The present invention enables generation of a schedule on the basis of a scheduled work time during which a user arrives at a work area and performs work in the work area or a time slot during which the user is not in the work area.

The accompanying drawings illustrating an embodiment of the present invention constitute a part of the specification, and are used together with the description to describe the present invention.

<FIG> schematically illustrates the overview of an automated work system according to an embodiment, and an automated work system STM includes an automated work machine <NUM> that performs work in a work area, a control apparatus (SV, TM) capable of controlling the automated work machine. The control apparatus includes an information processing apparatus SV and a mobile information terminal apparatus TM such as a smartphone that are operable by a user. The information processing apparatus SV and the information terminal apparatus TM are communicable with the automated work machine <NUM> through a network NET. Note that the central processing unit (CPU) of the automated work machine <NUM> may serve as the control apparatus (information processing apparatus SV and information terminal apparatus TM).

The work area is, for example, a work area of a rental farm in a rental service, and in <FIG>, the automated work machine <NUM> is disposed in a work area A. The automated work machine <NUM> is also disposed in a work area B different from the work area A. The control apparatus (SV, TM) generates a schedule for performing work in each work area on the basis of an operation input by the user, so that the corresponding automated work machine <NUM> can be controlled on the basis of the generated schedule.

The automated work machine <NUM> can function as, for example, a lawn mower, a snow blower, or a cultivator that performs work while autonomously traveling within a work area. However, the examples of the automated work machine are merely exemplified, and thus the present invention is applicable to other types of work machines. In the following description, the embodiment of the present invention will be described with the configuration of a lawn mower as an example.

<FIG> is a schematic top view of the automated work machine according to the embodiment, and <FIG> is a schematic side view of the automated work machine. Hereinafter, a traveling direction (vehicle length direction: x direction), a lateral direction (vehicle width direction: y direction) orthogonal to the traveling direction, and a vertical direction (z direction) orthogonal to the traveling direction and the lateral direction in side view of the automated work machine are defined, respectively, as a front-and-rear direction, a left-and-right direction (horizontal direction), and an up-and-down direction, and the configuration of each part will be described in accordance with to the definition. In <FIG>, reference sign <NUM> denotes an automated work machine that performs work while autonomously traveling in a work area.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the automated work machine <NUM> includes a camera <NUM>, a vehicle body <NUM>, a stay <NUM>, a front wheel <NUM>, a rear wheel <NUM>, a blade <NUM>, a work motor <NUM>, a motor holding member <NUM>, a blade-height adjustment motor <NUM>, and a translation mechanism <NUM>. The automated work machine <NUM> also includes a travel motor <NUM>, a group of various sensors S, an electronic control unit (ECU) <NUM>, a charging unit <NUM>, a battery (battery) <NUM>, a charging terminal <NUM>, and a notification unit <NUM>.

The camera <NUM> that captures the outside of the automated work machine <NUM> includes a plurality of cameras (left camera <NUM>, right camera 11R) capable of capturing a situation around the automated work machine <NUM>. Information regarding the distance between an object present ahead of the automated work machine <NUM> (for example, agricultural product in the work area) and the automated work machine <NUM> can be calculated and acquired with an image captured by the camera <NUM> (left camera <NUM>, right camera 11R). In <FIG>, the two-dot chain lines extending ahead of the camera <NUM> (left camera <NUM>, right camera 11R) indicate a predetermined viewing angle of the camera <NUM>. The ECU <NUM> can acquire information regarding the outside of the automated work machine <NUM> from the camera <NUM>.

The camera <NUM> (left camera <NUM>, right camera 11R) is held by a pan-angle adjustment mechanism 11b that adjusts the angle in the horizontal direction and a tilt-angle adjustment mechanism 11c that adjusts the angle in the up-and-down direction. The ECU <NUM> controls at least either the pan-angle adjustment mechanism 11b or the tilt-angle adjustment mechanism 11c, so that the angle of the camera <NUM> can be controlled.

The vehicle body <NUM> of the automated work machine <NUM> includes a chassis 12a and a frame 12b attached to the chassis 12a. The front wheel <NUM> includes two left and right wheels (left front wheel <NUM>, right front wheel 14R) each having a smaller diameter and secured to the front side of the chassis 12a through the stay <NUM> in the front-and-rear direction. The rear wheel <NUM> includes two left and right wheels (left rear wheel <NUM>, right rear wheel 16R) each having a larger diameter and attached to the rear side of the chassis 12a.

The blade <NUM> is a rotary blade for mowing work and is attached near the central position of the chassis 12a. The work motor <NUM> is an electric motor disposed above the blade <NUM>. The blade <NUM> is connected to the work motor <NUM> and is rotationally driven by the work motor <NUM>. The motor holding member <NUM> holds the work motor <NUM>. The motor holding member <NUM> is restricted in rotation to the chassis 12a, and is allowed to move in the up-and-down direction by, for example, a combination of a guide rail and a slider that is guided by the guide rail and is movable up and down.

The blade-height adjustment motor <NUM> is a motor for adjusting the height in the up-and-down direction of the blade <NUM> to the ground surface GR. The translation mechanism <NUM> is connected to the blade-height adjustment motor <NUM>, and is a mechanism for converting rotation of the blade-height adjustment motor <NUM> into translation in the up-and-down direction. The translation mechanism <NUM> is also connected to the motor holding member <NUM> that holds the work motor <NUM>.

The rotation of the blade-height adjustment motor <NUM> is converted into the translation (movement in the up-and-down direction) by the translation mechanism <NUM>, and the translation is transmitted to the motor holding member <NUM>. Due to the translation (movement in the up-and-down direction) of the motor holding member <NUM>, the work motor <NUM> held by the motor holding member <NUM> also is translated (moves in the up-and-down direction). Due to the movement in the up-and-down direction of the work motor <NUM>, the height of the blade <NUM> to the ground surface GR can be adjusted.

The travel motor <NUM> includes two electric motors (prime movers) (left travel motor <NUM>, right travel motor 26R) attached to the chassis 12a of the automated work machine <NUM>. The two electric motors are connected one-to-one to the left and right rear wheels <NUM>. Independent rotation of the left and right wheels forward (rotation in the forward direction) or rearward (rotation in the rearward direction) with the front wheel <NUM> as a driven wheel and the rear wheel <NUM> as a drive wheel allows the automated work machine <NUM> to move in various directions.

The charging terminal <NUM> is a charging terminal provided at the front-end position in the front-and-rear direction of the frame 12b, and is connected to the corresponding charging terminal of a charging station to receive power supplied from the charging station. The charging terminal <NUM> is connected to the charging unit <NUM> through wiring, and the charging unit <NUM> is connected to the battery (battery) <NUM>. In addition, the work motor <NUM>, the travel motor <NUM>, and the blade-height adjustment motor <NUM> are connected to the battery <NUM>, and are supplied with power from the battery <NUM>.

The ECU <NUM> is an electronic control unit including a microcomputer provided on a circuit board, and controls the operation of the automated work machine <NUM>. Details of the ECU <NUM> will be described below. In a case like occurrence of abnormality in the automated work machine <NUM>, the notification unit <NUM> issues a notification of the fact. For example, the notification can be issued with voice or display. Alternatively, the occurrence of abnormality can be output to an external device wirelessly connected to the automated work machine <NUM>. The user can know the occurrence of abnormality through the external device.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating the relationship between input and output of the electronic control unit (ECU) that controls the automated work machine <NUM>. As illustrated in <FIG>, the ECU <NUM> includes a CPU 44a, an I/O 44b, and a memory 44c. The memory 44c functions as a storage unit, and includes a read only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), a random access memory (RAM), and the like.

The memory 44c stores information regarding a work timetable (schedule) and a work area of the automated work machine <NUM>, various programs for controlling the operation of the automated work machine <NUM>, and an area map indicating the shape of the work area. The automated work machine <NUM> is capable of performing predetermined work while autonomously traveling within the work area on the basis of the area map of the work area. In order to operate each processing unit for achieving the present invention, the ECU <NUM> reads and executes a program stored in the memory 44c.

The ECU <NUM> is connected to the group of various sensors S. The sensor group S includes a direction sensor <NUM>, a global positioning system (GPS) sensor <NUM>, a wheel-velocity sensor <NUM>, an angular-velocity sensor <NUM>, an acceleration sensor <NUM>, a current sensor <NUM>, a blade-height sensor <NUM>, a magnetic sensor <NUM>, and the like.

The GPS sensor <NUM> and the direction sensor <NUM> are sensors for acquiring information regarding the position and orientation of the automated work machine <NUM>. The direction sensor <NUM> detects the direction in accordance with geomagnetism. The GPS sensor <NUM> receives radio waves from a GPS satellite and detects information indicating the current position (latitude, longitude) of the automated work machine <NUM>.

The wheel-velocity sensor <NUM>, the angular-velocity sensor <NUM>, and the acceleration sensor <NUM> are sensors for acquiring information regarding the movement state of the automated work machine <NUM>. The wheel-velocity sensor <NUM> detects the wheel velocity of the left and right rear wheels <NUM>. The angular-velocity sensor <NUM> detects an angular velocity around the axis in the up-and-down direction (z axis in the vertical direction) of the position of the center of gravity of the automated work machine <NUM>. The acceleration sensor <NUM> detects accelerations in the orthogonally triaxial directions of x, y, and z axes acting on the automated work machine <NUM>.

The current sensor <NUM> detects the current consumption (amount of power consumption) of the battery <NUM>. The detection result of the current consumption (amount of power consumption) is stored in the memory 44c of the ECU <NUM>. In a case where a predetermined amount of power is consumed and the amount of power stored in the battery <NUM> becomes not more than a threshold, the ECU <NUM> controls such that the automated work machine <NUM> returns to the charging station for charging.

The blade-height sensor <NUM> detects the height of the blade <NUM> to the ground surface GR. The detection result of the blade-height sensor <NUM> is output to the ECU <NUM>. On the basis of the control of the ECU <NUM>, the blade-height adjustment motor <NUM> is driven and the blade <NUM> moves up and down in the up-and-down direction to adjust the height from the ground surface GR.

The magnetic sensor <NUM> includes a left magnetic sensor <NUM> and a right magnetic sensor 66R that are disposed at symmetrical positions in the left-and-right direction of the automated work machine <NUM> and output signals indicating the strength of magnetic field (intensity of magnetic field) to the ECU <NUM>.

Outputs of the group of various sensors S are input to the ECU <NUM> through the I/O 44b. On the basis of the outputs of the group of various sensors S, the ECU <NUM> supplies power from the battery <NUM> to the travel motor <NUM>, the work motor <NUM>, and the height adjustment motor <NUM>. The ECU <NUM> outputs a control value through the I/O 44b and controls the travel motor <NUM>, so that traveling of the automated work machine <NUM> is controlled. The ECU <NUM> also outputs a control value through the I/O 44b and controls the height adjustment motor <NUM>, so that the height of the blade <NUM> is adjusted. The ECU <NUM> further outputs a control value through the I/O 44b and controls the work motor <NUM>, so that rotation of the blade <NUM> is controlled. Here, the I/O 44b can function as a communication interface (communication unit), and is wirelessly communicable with the control apparatus (information processing apparatus SV, information terminal apparatus TM) through the network NET.

The information processing apparatus SV (server) stores a work-schedule-information database SD that stores scheduled-work information of the user. The work-schedule-information database SD is a database stored in the server <NUM>, and stores a scheduled work time during which the user arrives at a work area and performs work in the work area (for example, the user is scheduled to arrive at ∘ o'clock AM on day D, month M, year Y and is scheduled to work in the work area for Δ hours) or a time slot during which the user is not in the work area.

The I/O 44b (communication unit) of the automated work machine <NUM> can store (download) the information in the work-schedule-information database SD from the information processing apparatus SV into the memory 44c. The CPU 44a is capable of executing various types of processing with reference to the scheduled work time stored in the memory 44c.

An acquisition unit SD2 included in the information processing apparatus SV acquires, through the network NET, the scheduled work time during which the user arrives at the work area and performs work in the work area or the time slot during which the user is not in the work area. For example, the user can input information regarding the scheduled work time from an input unit UI included in the information terminal apparatus TM, and the acquisition unit SD2 acquires the information regarding the scheduled work time of the user and the like through communication with the information terminal apparatus TM and registers the information in the scheduled-work-time information database SD.

The user may register the information regarding the scheduled work time and the like in advance from the input unit UI of the information terminal apparatus TM to the work-schedule-information database SD1 of the information processing apparatus SV, or may directly transmit the information regarding the scheduled work time and the like to the automated work machine <NUM>.

Note that the I/O 44b (communication unit) of the automated work machine <NUM> can also acquire predetermined data with reference to the database (work-schedule-information database SD) on the information processing apparatus SV through wireless communication with the information processing apparatus SV, without downloading the work-schedule-information database SD from the information processing apparatus SV (server).

The ECU <NUM> reads and executes various programs stored in the memory 44c, so that the CPU 44a functions as a generation unit C1, a communication unit C2, and a control unit C3 for achieving the present invention.

The generation unit C1 generates a schedule for the automated work machine <NUM> in a work area. The generation unit C1 generates the schedule on the basis of a scheduled work time during which the user arrives at the work area and performs work in the work area or a time slot during which the user is not in the work area.

<FIG> is an illustration schematically describing schedule generation, and illustrates, with the time at which the user arrives at a work area defined as the starting point (work starting time T1), that the user stays and performs work in the work area during the scheduled work time until the work end time T2. A time slot excluding the scheduled work time in one day (<NUM> hours) is defined as a time slot during which the user is not in the work area (absent time slot). In order to avoid confliction between the scheduled work time during which the user arrives at the work area of a rental farm and performs work in the work area and a work time during which the automated work machine performs work, the generation unit C1 generates a schedule such that the work is performed in the time slot during which the user is not in the work area (in the absent time slot).

<FIG> is a flowchart for describing schedule-generation processing by the generation unit C1. First, in step S501, the generation unit C1 acquires a scheduled work time or absent time slot of the user from the work-schedule-information database SD1 through communication with the information processing apparatus SV. Alternatively, the generation unit C1 acquires a scheduled work time or absent time slot of the user through communication with the information terminal apparatus TM.

In step S502, the generation unit C1 generates a schedule on the basis of the scheduled work time during which the user arrives at a work area and performs work in the work area or the absent time slot during which the user is not in the work area. The generation unit C1 specifies the absent time slot from the information acquired in S501, and generates the schedule such that work is performed in a time slot that does not overlap with the scheduled work time. That is, the generation unit C1 generates the schedule such that work is performed in a time slot during which the user is not in the work area (in the absent time slot).

<FIG> is a flowchart for describing the schedule-generation processing in detail.

In step S601, the generation unit C1 determines whether work to be performed includes a plurality of steps, and in a case where the work to be executed includes a single step (S601-No), the generation unit C1 advances the processing to step S605.

Otherwise, in determination in step S601, in a case where the work to be executed includes a plurality of steps (S601-Yes), the generation unit C1 advances the processing to step S602.

In step S602, the generation unit C1 determines whether or not the work including a plurality of steps is completable before arrival of the scheduled work time of the user. In a case where the work is not completable (S602-No), in step S603, the generation unit C1 specifies the number of steps completable before arrival of the scheduled work time and generates a schedule such that the work having the number of specified steps is performed.

Then, in step S604, the generation unit generates a schedule such that work including a step different from a step completed among the plurality of steps is performed after end of the scheduled work time.

For example, as illustrated in <FIG>, in a case where the work to be executed includes a plurality of steps (A, B, and C), when the generation unit C1 determines that the steps A and B are completable before arrival of the scheduled work time and the step C is not completable before arrival of the scheduled work time, the generation unit C1 generates a schedule such that the steps A and B are performed before the scheduled work time of the user and generates a schedule such that the step C is performed after end of the scheduled work time of the user. That is, in step S603, the generation unit C1 generates a schedule such that the work having the number of specified steps (steps A and B) is performed in a time slot A (<FIG>) during which the user is not in the work area, and in step S604, the generation unit C1 generates a schedule such that the work including the step (step C) different from the steps completed among the plurality of steps is performed in a time slot B (<FIG>) during which the user is not in the work area.

Meanwhile, in a case where the work to be executed includes a single step, in step S605, when the generation unit C1 determines whether or not the work is completable before arrival of the scheduled work time of the user and the work is not completable (S605-No), in step S608, the generation unit C1 generates a schedule such that the work is performed after end of the scheduled work time of the user (in the time slot B during which the user is not in the work area). Otherwise, in a case where the work is completable before arrival of the scheduled work time of the user (S605-Yes), in step S607, the generation unit C1 generates a schedule such that the work is performed before the scheduled work time of the user (in the time slot A during which the user is not in the work area).

Furthermore, in response to setting of attribute information indicating a work attribute (for example, maintenance of a work machine, repair work thereof, pest control, seeding, or harvest work) of the user in the work area, the generation unit C1 can also acquire the scheduled work time corresponding to the attribute information and can generate a schedule.

Moreover, in a case where the work area includes a plurality of divided areas, the generation unit C1 can also generate, on the basis of a work schedule of the user who performs the work in one divided area among the plurality of divided areas, a schedule such that the work is performed in another divided area excluding the one divided area. For example, in a case where there is a plurality of work areas A (for example, areas A1, A2, and A3) and the work schedule of the user is for the area A1, a schedule can be generated such that the automated work machine <NUM> performs the work in the remaining area A2 or A3.

The communication unit C2 of the automated work machine <NUM> distributes an image captured by the image capturing unit (camera <NUM>) that captures images of a work area, to the control apparatus (information processing apparatus SV and information processing terminal TM). In addition, the control apparatus (information processing apparatus SV and information processing terminal TM) includes a display unit (SD3, TM2) that can display the image distributed from the automated work machine <NUM>, as an image browsable online by the user. Moreover, the work area is provided with an image capturing device (fixed camera) that captures an image of the work area and distributes the captured image to the control apparatus, and the display unit (SD3, TM2) included in the control apparatus (information processing apparatus SV and information processing terminal TM) can also display the image distributed from the image capturing device (fixed camera), as an image browsable online by the user.

The control apparatus (information processing apparatus SV and information processing terminal TM) includes an operation control unit (SD4, TM3) that generates control information on the basis of an instruction of the user, and the control unit C3 of the automated work machine <NUM> controls the automated work machine <NUM> and the image capturing unit (the camera <NUM>) on the basis of the control information generated by the control apparatus. In response to input of the control information for capturing a specific part (for example, a specific part of an agricultural product) in a work area, the control unit C3 of the automated work machine <NUM> controls movement of the automated work machine <NUM> on the basis of the control information and controls the capturing angle and the capturing direction of the image capturing unit (camera <NUM>) in accordance with the part.

The control apparatus (information processing apparatus SV and information processing terminal TM) includes an image processing unit (SD5, TM4) that performs predetermined image processing on an image captured by the image capturing unit (camera <NUM>) of the automated work machine <NUM> or the image capturing device (fixed camera) provided in the work area.

The image processing unit (SD5, TM4) acquires, from the image including an agricultural product captured in a cultivation process in the work area, at least any one piece of feature information from color information indicating the height, the amount of thick growth, and the level of growth of the agricultural product, and estimates the harvest timing of the agricultural product on the basis of the feature information. For example, the image processing unit (SD5, TM4) holds, as a reference model, color information that is obtained by modeling the reference growing level and indicates the height, the amount of thick growth, and the level of growth change in accordance with the elapse of time, for the type (item) of an agricultural product in cultivation. The image processing unit (SD5, TM4) can estimate the harvest timing of the agricultural product by comparison between information regarding the reference model and the feature information acquired from the captured image.

The control apparatus (information processing apparatus SV and information processing terminal TM) further includes a growth-level database (SD6, TM5) as a storage unit that stores a table in which the feature information acquired from the captured image (color information acquired from the image) is in association with the level of growth of the agricultural product. The image processing unit (SD5, TM4) can also estimate the harvest timing of the agricultural product with reference to the table in the growth-level database (SD6, TM5). Here, the feature information acquired from the captured image (color information acquired from the image) includes information regarding hue, saturation, and brightness.

<FIG> is an exemplary table stored in the growth-level database (SD6, TM5). In a case where the color information acquired from the image is color information A, the corresponding grade in level of growth is growth-level A indicating that the agricultural product is harvestable and ripe. In addition, in a case where the color information acquired from the image is color information B, the corresponding grade in level of growth is growth-level B indicating that the agricultural product is harvestable. Moreover, in a case where the color information acquired from the image is color information C, the corresponding grade in level of growth is growth-level C indicating that the crop is not harvestable.

Claim 1:
An automated work system including a control apparatus (SV, TM) capable of controlling an automated work machine (<NUM>) that performs work in a work area, the automated work system comprising:
a generation unit (C1) configured to generate a schedule for the work, characterized in that
the generation unit (C1) acquires a work starting time at which a user arrives at the work area and a work end time which is the end of a scheduled work time where the user stays and performs work in the work area, and generates the schedule such that the automated work machine (<NUM>) performs the work in the work area at a time slot excluding a scheduled work time which is defined from the work starting time until work end time,
the generation unit (C1) determines whether or not the automated work machine (<NUM>) is able to complete the work before arrival of the scheduled work time of the user,
in a case where the automated work machine (<NUM>) is not able to complete the work before arrival of the scheduled work time of the user, the generation unit (C1) generates a schedule such that the automated work machine (<NUM>) performs the work after end of the scheduled work time of the user,
in a case where the automated work machine (<NUM>) is able to complete the work before arrival of the scheduled work time of the user, the generation unit (C1) generates a schedule such that the automated work machine (<NUM>) performs the work before the scheduled work time of the user,
in a case where the work area includes a plurality of divided areas, the generation unit (C<NUM>) generates the schedule such that the automated work machine (<NUM>) performs the work in another divided area excluding one divided area in which the scheduled work time of the user is set, wherein
the generation unit (C1) determines whether or not the automated work machine (<NUM>) is able to complete the work including a plurality of steps before arrival of the scheduled work time, and
in a case where the automated work machine (<NUM>) is not able to complete the work, the generation unit (C1) specifies a number of steps which the automated work machine (<NUM>) is able to complete before arrival of the scheduled work time and generates the schedule such that the work having the number of steps specified is performed, wherein
the generation unit generates the schedule such that the work including a step different from a step completed among the plurality of steps is performed after end of the scheduled work time.