US 12,274,191 B2
Travel control system
Takanori Morimoto, Sakai (JP); Kotaro Yamaguchi, Sakai (JP); Ryota Kikuchi, Sakai (JP); Ken Sakuta, Sakai (JP); and Fumiya Yoshimura, Sakai (JP)
Assigned to Kubota Corporation, Osaka (JP)
Filed by Kubota Corporation, Osaka (JP)
Filed on Aug. 26, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/896,255.
Claims priority of application No. 2021-139301 (JP), filed on Aug. 27, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2023/0069372 A1, Mar. 2, 2023
Int. Cl. G05D 1/00 (2024.01); A01B 69/04 (2006.01)
CPC A01B 69/008 (2013.01) [G05D 1/0214 (2013.01); G05D 1/0219 (2013.01); G05D 1/0238 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A travel control system that controls automatic travel of a work vehicle that includes a work device, wherein:
the work vehicle is configured to perform outermost periphery traveling by automatic travel, and the outermost periphery traveling is work traveling performed along an outer shape of an agricultural field in an outermost peripheral region of the agricultural field, and
the outermost periphery traveling includes a first traveling for traveling in a first direction while driving the work device, a second traveling for traveling in a second direction while driving the work device, and a direction change operation that is performed between the first traveling and the second traveling and is performed to change a direction of the work vehicle from the first direction to the second direction,
the travel control system comprising a microcomputer comprising:
a permission unit configured to permit outermost periphery automatic traveling, which is the outermost periphery traveling performed by automatic travel, in response to a first predetermined permission condition and a second predetermined permission condition being satisfied;
a prohibition unit configured to prohibit the outermost periphery automatic traveling in response to the permission unit not permitting the outermost periphery automatic traveling; and
a threshold value determination unit, and
wherein:
the first predetermined permission condition is that a reference value corresponding to a working width of the work device is larger than a lateral width of the work device,
the second predetermined permission condition is that the reference value is larger than a threshold value determined by the threshold value determination unit, and
the threshold value determination unit is configured to determine the threshold value based on a reference distance between a front end position of the work vehicle and a reference position at which the work device is switched from a working state to a non-working state.