JPH0135362B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

The present invention relates to a system for checking an electric circuit for automatic control in a vehicle that is configured to perform automatic control. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to drawings showing an embodiment of a riding rice transplanter equipped with an automatic steering function. Figure 1 is a left side view of a riding rice transplanter equipped with an automatic steering function.
(See Figure 3) The solenoid valve (not shown) operated by the excitation of the hydraulic circuit switches the oil path of the hydraulic circuit, operates the hydraulic cylinder (not shown), and the front fuselage
This is done by rotating the rear body R, which is horizontally rotatably connected to the rear fuselage R, to the left or right. The planting section 103 is connected to the front part of the main body of the fuselage by one top link 104 and a pair of left and right lower links 105 (only the left one is shown in the figure), and is further connected to the left and right lower links 105, respectively. The lift arm 106 (only the left one is shown in the figure) moves up and down to move up and down. Four sets of seedling sensors are attached to the left and right lower links 105, respectively. That is, lower link 1 is connected to the left seedling sensor as shown in FIG.
A sensor box 108 is attached to the tip of an arm 107 made of a pipe that extends outward from the fuselage. It is set up. The touch rods 81 to 84 are made of thin conductors, the front and rear ends thereof are curved upward, the straight part in the middle is approximately 150 mm, and the front end is fixed within the sensor box 108, and the inner end thereof is curved upward. connected to electronic circuits. The touch rods 81 to 84 are spaced approximately 50 mm apart in the left and right directions of the aircraft.
3 and 84 are arranged side by side from left to right in this order, and in order to ensure this separation dimension, horizontal rods 1 made of electrical insulators are provided at the front curved part of the straight part and the rear end part.
09, 109 in an appropriate manner, and is constructed in the shape of a sled as a whole. and four tentacles81
The contact rod group consisting of ~84 can come into contact with the upper part of the seedlings constituting the already planted seedling row closest to the aircraft among the already planted seedlings group when the planting part 103 is lowered and its float 110 is landing on the water. The length of the arm 107 and the length of the touch rod itself are determined as follows. FIG. 3 is an electronic circuit diagram of the main parts of the automatic steering system. Seedling sensor 81l shown in detail in this figure
To explain its structure, the touch rod 81 is connected to the - input terminal of the comparator 11 via a protective resistor 15, and a bias resistor 14 and two anti-parallel resistors are connected between the + and - input terminals of the comparator. Two protective diodes 16, 16 are connected in parallel. The bias resistor 14 has a high resistance value of about 10MΩ,
The potential of the - input terminal of the comparator 11 is biased to be slightly higher than the potential of the + input terminal. Now, the surface resistance value of the planted seedling Z from the base to the tip that comes into contact with the touch rod 81 is in the range of approximately 50MΩ to 100MΩ, although it depends on its moisture absorption state or moisture adhesion state, and the value is generally around 80MΩ. It is becoming. The plant base of the already planted seedling Z is in water in the field, and its potential is the same as the body ground, so when its tip comes into contact with the contact rod 81, the contact rod is grounded through the high resistance of the already planted seedling Z. Therefore, the potential of the - input terminal of the comparator 11 is slightly lower than the potential of the + input terminal, and the output terminal OUT of the comparator 11 is connected to the planted seedling Z.
will change from a low level in the case of non-contact to a high level. In this way, one seedling sensor consists of one touch rod and an electronic circuit such as a comparator 11 and a bias resistor 14 connected to it. The group of touch rods provided in
The seedling sensors related to Nos. 1, 82, 83, and 84 are represented as 81l, 82l, 83l, and 84l, respectively. On the other hand, the configuration of the right hand group 8r is similar to that on the left, with each contact rod being 81, 82, 8 from left to right.
They are arranged in the order of 3 and 84. The seedling sensors associated with the right touch rods 81, 82, 83, and 84 are denoted by 81r, 82r, 83r, and 84r, respectively, and the outputs of these eight left and right seedling sensors, that is, the outputs of the respective comparators 11 The signals obtained from the output terminals and OUT are 81l and 81r, 82l and 82r, 8
The signals 3l and 83r and 84l and 84r are respectively input into pairs as a pair to the input ports P ₁₀ to _{P 13} of the data processing device 1 which serves as the control center of the automatic steering system. The sensor unit 80l consisting of seedling sensors 81l to 84l and the sensor unit 80r consisting of seedling sensors 81r to 84r are respectively attached to the left and right lower links 105 as described above, but the data processing device 1 is attached to the machine body. It is stored in a suitable place in the main body, for example, in the operation column 111. The seedling sensor and the data processing device 1 are connected by a cable through which a pipe-shaped arm 107 is inserted. The mounting position of the sensor unit is not limited to the above-mentioned lower link, but may be arranged on the side of the bumper 103' of the planting section 103 in front of the lower link so that information for steering can be obtained more quickly. The data processing device 1 is a so-called microcomputer, and in this embodiment, a one-chip microcomputer 8748-8 manufactured by Intel Corporation in the United States, which is also equipped with a memory device, is used. The data processing device 1 is programmed to recognize the relative positional relationship between the planted seedlings and the machine body in the following manner. That is, during the planting process, the planted seedlings Z will come into contact with the contact rod group 8l or 8r of either the left or right sensor unit 80l or 80r, but in either case, only the leftmost contact rod 81 will come into contact with the seedlings Z. If the seedling comes into contact with the robot (that is, if only the output of the comparator 11 connected to the touch rod 81 is reversed and this is detected by the data processing device 1), it is recognized that the aircraft is largely biased to the right. . In other words, if the row of already planted seedlings is to the left (or right) of the aircraft, it is recognized that the aircraft is too far away from (or too close to) the row of already planted seedlings. Next, when the touch rods 81 and 82 come into contact with the planted seedlings, it is recognized that the aircraft is slightly biased to the right. Further, if the touch rods 82 and 83 are in contact with the planted seedlings, the machine maintains a desired distance from the row of planted seedlings and recognizes that the machine's position is normal. Furthermore, if a planted seedling comes into contact with the touch rods 83 and 84, the aircraft will be slightly biased to the left, and if a planted seedling comes into contact only with the touch lever 84, the aircraft will be greatly biased to the left. Recognize that there is. Then, depending on each situation, the steering angle required to make the vehicle travel along the rows of already planted seedlings is determined as shown in Table 1.

[Table] However, the positive and negative signs of the steering angle are positive to indicate steering to the left and negative to indicate steering to the right, and θ ₂ >
Let θ be ₁ . In addition, in order to prevent hunting in the control system and deterioration of riding comfort due to unnecessary steering, contact conditions between the seedling and the touch rod that do not apply to each of the cases 1 to 5 in Table 1. If this occurs, the steering angle is determined to be smaller (if there are four levers as in the embodiment, the steering angle is 0). For example, if only the touch rod 82 or 83 is touched, 0, 81,
If it touches 82, 83 or 82, 83, 84, it is set to 0. In this way, seedling sensors 81l to 84l or 81r
When the steering angle is determined based on the combination of the outputs of ~84r, that is, the output pattern, the data processing device 1 issues steering control signals from the output ports P ₁₄ and P ₁₅ to realize this steering angle. The electronic circuit connected to these output ports P ₁₄ and P ₁₅ is an electromagnetic circuit installed in the hydraulic circuit that raises and lowers the solenoid 2ls, 2rs that should be excited when the aircraft turns left and right, and the planting part 103. This is a drive circuit for controlling the energization of the valve solenoid 2c (its excitation locks the raising and lowering of the planting section 103), and includes comparators 21l and 21r, two PNP transistors 22l connected to each other in Darlington, It consists of 23l, 22r, 23r, etc.
Output port P ₁₄ (or P ₁₅ ) is at high level when the determined steering angle is 0, and when the steering angle is +
When it becomes θ ₂ , +θ ₁ (or −θ ₂ , −θ ₁ ), it becomes a low level. The steering control signal issued from this output port P ₁₄ (or P ₁₅ ) is transmitted to the comparator 21l (or 2
1r), and a signal corresponding to the high/low level of the output port is emitted from its output terminal. This signal is input to the base of one of the Darlington-connected transistors 22l (or 22r). While this signal is at high level, the transistor 22l (or 22r)
is off, but turns on when it changes to low level, and as a result, the other transistor 23l
(or 23r) will also turn on. In this way, the emitter of the transistor 23l (or 23r), which is turned on when the output port P ₁₄ (or P ₁₅ ) becomes low level, is at a positive potential +Vcc, and the collector is grounded to the body via the solenoid 2ls (or 2rs). ing. On the other hand, solenoid 2cs
One end is body grounded and the other end is diode 2.
It is connected to the cathodes of 4 and 25 and the anode of a diode 26. The anodes of diodes 24 and 25 are connected to the collectors of transistors 23l and 23r, respectively, and the cathode of diode 26 is connected to the +Vcc line. Furthermore, the cathode of another diode 27 is connected to the +Vcc line, and the anode is connected to the collector of the transistor 23l. Therefore, the transistor 23l
(or 23r) is turned on, both solenoids 2ls and 2cs (or 2rs and 2cs) are energized. That is, when turning to the left or right, the raising and lowering of the planting section 103 is blocked, and pressure oil is not supplied to the hydraulic circuit for raising and lowering, so that the steering is performed strongly. be. Switches 28l and 28r are interposed between the output terminals of the comparators 21l and 21r and the body ground, respectively. switch 28l (or 28r)
is arranged so that the circuit is closed when the steering wheel 101 is rotated to the left (or right) by an appropriate amount, and the comparator 21l (or 21r) is closed by the closing of the circuit.
With the output terminal of transistor 2 set to low level,
Turn on 2l, 23l (or 22r, 23r),
This energizes the solenoid 2ls (or 2rs), allowing manual steering operation. In this way, manual steering is simply a switch 28.
Since it is sufficient to close circuits 1 and 28r, there is no need to provide the steering wheel 101 and the switches 28l and 28 can be connected to the operation column 111 as push button switches.
It is also possible to provide r. Reference numeral 41 denotes a steering sensor, which is composed of a potentiometer connected in conjunction with the aforementioned hydraulic cylinder for steering, and outputs a voltage corresponding to the amount of left and right steering. The output voltage of this steering sensor 41 is V/
The signal is input to an F (voltage/frequency) converter 42, and the signal subjected to V/F conversion is input to the input port _T1 of the data processing device. The potentiometer 40 is used to correct the signal that should be input to the V/F converter 42 when the steering wheel 101 is in the neutral position (the position where the aircraft should go straight) to a voltage representing a steering amount of 0. After adjustment, its resistance value is fixed. Thus, the data processing device 1 can detect the actual steering state based on the steering control signals from the output ports P ₁₄ and P ₁₅ based on the input signal to the port T ₁ . Then, the data of the steering angles ±θ ₁ and ±θ ₂ determined as described above and stored in appropriate registers and the actual steering angle inputted from the steering sensor 41 via the V/F converter 42 are used. When the data of the angle of entry match, the outputs of the output ports P ₁₄ and P ₁₅ are returned to high level, and the straight traveling state is restored. Note that the signal AUTO inputted to the data processing device 1 by an appropriately provided switch is a signal that instructs the transplanting machine to operate in automatic mode, and its input causes the planting section 103 to operate. A predetermined initial operation such as descent is performed, and then automatic steering as described above is performed. Now, this rice transplanter makes it possible to check the operating status of the electric circuit by connecting a check device, which will be described later, to check the output pattern of the seedling sensor of the left (or right) sensor unit 80l (or 80r). The following circuit is provided for analog display. That is, in FIG. 3, 8-bit digital data DTA is output from the output ports P ₂₀ to _{P 27} of the data processing device 1 in accordance with the output pattern of the seedling sensors 81l to 84l or 81r to 84r.
is output. This output data
The DTA is stored in advance in the memory device in the data processing device 1 in correspondence with various patterns of the seedling sensor, and the output port P ₂₀ is read out from the memory device according to each output pattern.
It is set to be output from ~P ₂₇ . Table 2 shows an example of the output pattern of the seedling sensor (indicated by the touch rod that is in contact with the already planted seedling) and the corresponding output data DTA. Note that the reason why the output data DTA is 8 bits is because an 8-bit microcomputer is used as the data processing device 1, and in this embodiment, 4 bits are used.
Bit data is sufficient.

[Table] 43 is a D/A (digital/analog) converter, the above-mentioned digital data DTA is input from the data processing device 1 to its data input terminal Din, and the automatic voltage is input to the reference voltage input terminal Vref. A predetermined constant voltage is input from the regulator 44. The data DTA input to this D/A converter 43 is converted into analog data ADT determined according to its contents and output, and input to the + input terminal of the comparator 45, where it is positively amplified and voltage A total of 91 (see FIG. 4) are displayed. Note that the D/A conversion by the D/A converter 43 has an output pattern of, for example,
Voltage signals that increase in level in the order of data DTA are output as analog data ADT, and when the data processing device 1 is not emitting digital data DTA (i.e., the output data
When DTA is 00000000), the voltage of analog data ADT is set to 0V. Both the + and - input terminals of the comparator 45
It is connected to body ground via 100Ω resistors 47 and 48, and its output terminal is connected to 2KΩ resistor 4.
9 to a fixed power supply with a potential of +Vcc, and a 1KΩ current-limiting resistor 50 to terminal 65a, and 0.01μF.
to the body ground via the capacitor 52 of
It is connected to the − input terminal via a feedback resistor 53 of 100KΩ. With this circuit configuration, the voltage fluctuation at the input terminal becomes minute, and the input data ADT of the comparator 45 is amplified with high precision.When selecting the level of the input data ADT appropriately, the comparator output can be omitted. 0~+Vcc
It is now possible to change the voltage within the range of 9
If the full scale of 1 is set to +Vcc, the comparator output can be read accurately and easily. Now, the electric circuit shown in FIG. 3 is connected by a detachable multi-terminal connector so that a portion thereof can be disconnected. The connector member (plug) on the male terminal side that makes up this connector is marked □.
The connector member (receptacle) on the female terminal side is indicated by a mark. That is, male and female terminals 61a and 61b are connected to the cathode of the diode 26 and a battery of potential +Vcc, respectively, and a terminal 62 is connected to the transistor 23l and the solenoid 2ls, respectively.
a, 62b, a terminal 63 connected to the cathodes of the diodes 24 and 25, and the solenoid 2cs, respectively.
a, 63b, terminals 64a, 64b connected to the transistor 23r and the solenoid 2rs, respectively;
a resistor between the V/F converter 42 and the intermediate terminal of the potentiometer 40, and terminals 66a, 66b connected to the intermediate terminal of the potentiometer 40, respectively;
A resistor between the V/F converter 42 and the steering sensor 41 and a terminal 67 connected to each of the steering sensor 41
a, 67b, terminals 68a, 6 connected respectively to the input port of the data processing device 1 into which the signal AUTO is to be input and the switch for inputting the signal;
8b. In addition, a female terminal 65a is connected to the resistor 50, but a male terminal 65a to be connected to this is left as an empty terminal. As described above, the circuit connected to the female terminal, that is, the data processing device 1, etc., is housed in the operation column 111, and the sensor units 80l and 80r are housed in the left and right sensor boxes 108, respectively. It is. The above-mentioned connectors, that is, plugs and receptacles are housed within the operation column 111, but can be taken out to the outside as necessary. FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of a check device which constitutes a main part of the system of the present invention, and a case 90 as shown in FIG.
It is stored and assembled in. In Fig. 5, 91 is a voltmeter, 92, 93, 94 are lamps, and 95
96a is a power switch, 96a is an operation knob for a potentiometer 96, which will be described later, and 97 is a toggle switch, which is attached to the top surface of the case 90. 70
a is a receptacle to be connected to a plug provided with the male terminals 61b to 69b, and its female terminals 71a to 79a shown in FIG. 4 are connected to the male terminals 61b to 69b.
69b, and is connected to a circuit inside the case 90 via a flat cable 70a'. 70b is the female terminal 61a~
69a and its male terminals 71b to 7 shown in FIG.
9b is connected to each of the female terminals 61a to 69a, and is connected to a circuit inside the case 90 via a flat cable 70b'. On one side of the case 90 are plug jacks J1 and J.
2, J3, J4, and J5 are installed. Next, the structure of this check device will be explained based on FIG. The terminals 71a and 71b are connected via a power switch 95, and the terminals 72a and 71b are connected via a power switch 95.
between 2b, between 73a and 73b, between 74a and 74b,
Between 76a and 76b, between 78a and 78b, and between 79
A and 79b are both directly connected. terminal 7
5a and 77a are empty terminals. Terminal 75b is connected to plug jack J1 and one end of voltmeter 91. Terminal 77b is potentiometer 96
is connected to the output terminal of On the other hand, plug jacks J2, J3 and J5 are connected to terminals 76a (or 76b), 77b and 79a (or 79b), respectively. Plug jack J4 is connected to the collector of transistor 99 via resistor 98a. The other end of the voltmeter 91 is the terminal 79a (or 79b)
and resistors 98b and 98 directly to the terminal 71b.
connected via c. potentiometer 9
Both end terminals of 6 are terminals 71b and 79a (or 79
b) connected to. The power switch 95 is interposed between the terminal 71a and the connection point between the resistor 98c and one end terminal of the potentiometer 96 and the terminal 71b. One end of each of the lamps 92, 93, 94 is connected to the terminals 72a, 73a, 74a,
The other end is collectively connected to a terminal 79a. The emitter of transistor 99 is connected to terminal 79a, its base is connected to terminal 75a via a resistor, and its collector is connected to resistor 98 as described above.
In addition to being connected to plug jack J4 via a,
It is connected to the connection point between the resistors 98b and 98c, and further connected to the cathode of a diode whose anode is connected to the terminal 72a. toggle switch 97
The common terminal of the terminals is connected to the terminal 78a, one of the switching terminals is connected to the terminal 79a, and the other switching terminal is left as an empty terminal. Now, when this rice transplanter is used, the terminals 61a to 69a are connected to the terminals 61b to 69b, respectively, as described above, and the sensor units 80l and 80
r, data processing device 1, and further solenoid 2ls,
Automatic steering is performed by the movement of a solenoid valve or the like having 2rs, but during the inspection process on the manufacturer's side or maintenance on the customer's side, the terminals 61a to 69a and the terminals 61b to 69b are disconnected.
a has terminals 71b to 79b, respectively, and terminal 61.
Terminals 71a to 79a are connected to terminals b to 69b, respectively, so that the check device can intervene. When the power switch 95 is closed, the check device and the circuits on the terminals 61a to 69a are connected to the +Vcc power supply, and are activated. Then, put the toggle switch 97 on the empty terminal side and simulate
The AUTO signal is given to the data processing device 1, and the rice transplanter is put into the field and run so that the contact rods 81 etc. come into contact with the seedlings, or the touch rods 81 etc. are grounded with high resistance to simulate this state. . Then the touch lever 8
Data according to the contact state between the first class and seedlings or high resistance
DTA is output port P ₂₀ to _{P 27} of data processing device 1
Since the converted analog data ADT is displayed on the voltmeter 91, it is used to control the operation of the sensor units 80l and 80r, the processing of input data from the sensor unit 80l, etc. of the data processing device, etc. Normal and abnormal are voltmeter 9
This can be determined from the display of 1. Also, lamps 92, 93, 94 are solenoid 2ls, 2cs, 2rs
Since each solenoid is connected in parallel and lights up when each solenoid is energized, this indicates whether the output signals from the output ports P ₁₄ and P ₁₅ of the data processing device 1 are correct or not, in other words, the steering control relationship of the data processing device. It is possible to determine whether the operation is normal or abnormal. When the aircraft is not allowed to travel or steer, or when steering is not performed due to a failure in the steering mechanism, the steering sensor 4
Since the signal representing the steering angle from 1 is not input,
There is no change in the steering condition due to the operation of the steering mechanism due to the excitation of the solenoids 2ls and 2rs, but when using this check device, a simulated steering sensor signal can be generated by adjusting the potentiometer 96 provided in the check device. is obtained. Therefore, the correspondence between the steering execution state and the steering control system or steering operation system can be known from the lighting or extinguishing of the lamps 92, 93, and 94 based on the simulated signal. The plug jack J1 is used when inputting a signal simulating data ADT from the outside or when recording data ADT on a data recorder or the like. Plug jacks J2 and J3 are also used to display or record the potentials of the output terminals of the potentiometer 40 and steering sensor 41. Plug jack J4 is also used to connect to a data recorder or the like. This jack J4
The collector of the transistor 99 to which is connected becomes high level when solenoid 2ls should be excited, and becomes low level when solenoid 2rs should be excited, so from the record of this potential, data connected to solenoids 2ls and 2rs can be obtained. The operating status of the processing device side circuit can be understood. As described in detail above, in the case of the system of the present invention, the above-mentioned check device is interposed and connected, and if necessary, a recording device such as a data record is connected to the check device, so that the devices are separated by the connector. It becomes possible to easily inspect one or the other of the electric circuits, and in short, the present invention is extremely useful in facilitating product inspection and maintenance services. It goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to general vehicles equipped with various control devices.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a left side view of a riding rice transplanter to which the present invention is applied;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the touch rod group, FIG. 3 is an electrical circuit diagram of the main part of the automatic steering system, FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of the check device, and FIG. 5 is an external view of the check device. 1...Data processing device, 2ls, 2cs, 2rs...
Solenoid, 61a, 61b to 69b, 71a,
71b-79b...Terminal, 90...Case, 91
...Voltmeter, 92,93,94...Lamp.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 In a vehicle configured to carry out the required automatic control, a part of the electric circuit that participates in automatic control is connected to other parts via a detachable connector, and the connector is disconnected. In this case, the connector member is configured to be interposed between the connector member on the electric circuit side of the part and the connector member on the electric circuit side of the other part, and is to be transferred between the electric circuits of the part and the other part. Checking the electric circuit using a check device equipped with a signal display means, a means for taking out the signal to the outside, and a signal input means for externally supplying a signal to the electric circuit of the part or other part. An electric circuit check system characterized in that it is configured to perform the following.