US 12,083,961 B2
Harvester, system, program, recording medium, and method
Toshiki Watanabe, Sakai (JP); Sotaro Hayashi, Sakai (JP); Takashi Nakabayashi, Sakai (JP); and Kazushi Sako, Sakai (JP)
Assigned to Kubota Corporation, Osaka (JP)
Appl. No. 17/608,604
Filed by Kubota Corporation, Osaka (JP)
PCT Filed Jun. 25, 2020, PCT No. PCT/JP2020/024937
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Nov. 3, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/262508, PCT Pub. Date Dec. 30, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 2019-121783 (JP), filed on Jun. 28, 2019; application No. 2019-121784 (JP), filed on Jun. 28, 2019; application No. 2019-121785 (JP), filed on Jun. 28, 2019; and application No. 2019-121786 (JP), filed on Jun. 28, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0212602 A1, Jul. 7, 2022
Int. Cl. B60R 1/23 (2022.01); A01D 41/127 (2006.01); B60R 11/00 (2006.01); B60R 11/04 (2006.01); G05D 1/00 (2024.01)
CPC B60R 1/23 (2022.01) [A01D 41/1278 (2013.01); B60R 11/04 (2013.01); G05D 1/0278 (2013.01); B60R 2011/004 (2013.01); B60R 2300/105 (2013.01); B60R 2300/303 (2013.01); B60R 2300/8086 (2013.01); B60R 2300/8093 (2013.01)] 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A harvester, comprising:
a vehicle body;
a front camera, a rear camera, a first side camera, and a second side camera that shoot a vicinity of the vehicle body and generate shot images;
a storage unit for storing vehicle body data indicating an external shape of the vehicle body;
an image compositing unit that generates a composite image showing the vehicle body and the vicinity of the vehicle body based on (i) the shot images generated by the front camera, the rear camera, the first side camera, and the second side camera and (ii) the vehicle body data stored in the storage unit; and
a display unit that displays the composite image generated by the image compositing unit,
wherein the vehicle body comprises:
a harvesting unit that harvests a crop in a field;
a driving section provided behind the harvesting unit;
a transport unit that is provided laterally to the driving section and that transports a harvested crop harvested by the harvesting unit;
a threshing device that is provided behind the transport unit and that threshes the harvested crop transported by the transport unit;
a grain tank that is provided behind the driving section and laterally to the threshing device and that stores grain obtained by the threshing device;
a discharge device that is provided behind the grain tank and that discharges the grain stored in the grain tank to outside; and
a rear cover part that covers the discharge device or the threshing device from behind,
wherein:
the front camera is provided on a front part of the driving section,
the rear camera is provided on the rear cover part,
the first side camera is provided on (i) a side part of the driving section on an outer side in a left-right direction of the vehicle body or (ii) a side part of the grain tank on an outer side in the left-right direction of the vehicle body,
the second side camera is provided on a side part of the threshing device on an outer side in the left-right direction of the vehicle body,
the front camera is provided so that a region around the harvesting unit and an entirety of the harvesting unit are included in a shooting range thereof,
the image compositing unit selectively generates the composite image in which:
(a)(i) the harvesting unit in a working position or the harvesting unit in a non-working position is shown in the composite image, based on the vehicle body data, and (ii) the threshing device is shown in the composite image, based on the vehicle body data; or
(b)(i) the region around the harvesting unit and the entirety of the harvesting unit are shown in the composite image, based on images captured by the front camera, and (ii) the threshing device is shown in the composite image based on the vehicle body data.