Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Toshiaki Kawakami

Tsutomu Wakitani

Makoto Yamamura

Norikazu Shimizu

Takuya Kanisawa

Hiroshi Kobayashi

Taro Yokoyama

Hiroto Takahashi

Jin Nishimura

Wei Song

Nobuo Yamazaki

Tsutomu Mizoroke

Atsushi Moroi

Toshio Inoue

Takumi Shiiyama

Tsutomu Inui

Jun Fukano

Toshinori Inagawa

Junichi Eguchi

Kiyomi Yanai

Masaki Takahashi

Ryuichi Kimata

Kenji Kuroiwa

Yoshihisa Shinogi

Seishu Sakai

Hiroo Kanke

Nobuyuki Hirose

Yuki Matsui

Yoshitaka Ohta

Kenta Kawanishi

Naotoshi Ono

Kouichi Okada

Nobuyuki Habuka

George Murakami

Atsushi Sotome

An information providing device includes an information acquisition part configured to acquire environment information which indicates a growth environment of grass in a predetermined area and state information which indicates a growth state of the grass in the predetermined area, and an information generating part configured to determine a good area which indicates an area in which the growth state of the grass in the predetermined area is good and a bad area which indicates an area in which the growth state of the grass in the predetermined area is bad based on the state information, and configured to generate management information which indicates a content of treatments to be performed with respect to the good area and the bad area based on the environment information.

Information providing device, mowing vehicle and mowing management system

A charging control system includes a lawn mower that includes a battery and performs a lawn mowing work while traveling autonomously, and a charging station for charging the battery. The lawn mower includes a superimposing unit for superimposing, on a charging current, a current indicating period information for defining a shutoff period of supply power to be supplied from the charging station. The charging station includes a current detector for detecting the charging current, an information acquisition unit for acquiring period information based on a detection result of the current detector, a switch for shutting off the supply power, and a shutoff controller for controlling the operation of the switch. The shutoff controller releases the shutoff of supply of power to the lawn mower based on the period information acquired by the information acquisition unit. Therefore, the power consumption of the lawn mower can be reduced.

Charging control system, charging station, autonomous traveling work machine, and charging control system control method

A mower includes: a cutting part which is able to cut grass; a machine body which includes the cutting part and a cover configured to cover the cutting part from above; and a state control part which controls a state of at least one of the cutting part and the cover such that at least one of grass in a space provided between the cutting part and the cover and grass outside the cover is able to be cut in the cutting part in a case where a predetermined condition is satisfied.

Mower

An autonomous work system includes a first work machine, a plurality of second work machines having different functions, a setting device that stores work schedule information indicating work schedule content, performance of the first work machine, and performance of the plurality of second work machines, and a terminal. The first work machine acquires a state of work performed by its own device and transmits detection result information indicating the acquired state of work to the setting device. The setting device discriminates whether additional work is required based on the detection result information and the work schedule information, and in a case where the additional work is required, selects the second work machine, and transmits additional work information including work content for the second work machine and information relating to the second work machine to at least one of the terminal and the second work machine.

Autonomous work system, autonomous work setting method, and storage medium

A control device capable of improving the position accuracy of map data is disclosed. The control device is configured to acquire information which is output from a working machine which includes a working part and works along a boundary between a working area and a non-working area. The control device includes an operating state acquisition part configured to acquire information indicating an operating state of a machine body of the working machine; a judgment part configured to determine the operating state of the machine body, based on information acquired by the operating state acquisition part; a position information acquisition part configured to acquire position information indicating a position of the machine body; and a storage control part configured to store the position information acquired by the position information acquisition part in the storage, based on a determination result of the judgment part.

Control device and work machine

A charging control system includes a lawn mower that has a battery and performs a lawn mowing work while traveling autonomously, and a charging station for charging the battery. The lawn mower includes a period calculator for calculating a shutoff period of supply power supplied from the charging station, and a first communication unit. The charging station includes a second communication unit communicating with the first communication unit, an information acquisition unit for acquiring shutoff period information indicating the shutoff period from the first communication unit via the second communication unit, a switch for shutting off the supply power, and a shutoff controller for controlling the operation of the switch. The shutoff controller releases the shutoff of the power supply to the lawn mower based on the shutoff period information.

Charging control system, charging station, autonomous traveling working machine and control method for charging control system

A snow removal machine has: a storage unit that stores a vehicle speed coefficient map indicating the relationship between an incline angle and a vehicle speed coefficient for decreasing an instructed vehicle speed; a vehicle speed coefficient setting unit that sets the vehicle speed coefficient on the basis of a detected incline angle and the vehicle speed coefficient map; and a vehicle speed setting unit that sets the vehicle speed of a traveling unit by way of multiplying the instructed vehicle speed by the set vehicle speed coefficient. The vehicle speed coefficient map sets the vehicle speed coefficient so same is smaller for larger incline angles when at least the traveling unit is going forward on an upslope. A travel control unit controls a drive source so that the traveling unit travels at the set vehicle speed set by the vehicle speed setting unit.

Snow removal machine

In an apparatus for controlling operation of an autonomously navigating utility vehicle adapted to run about a working area defined by a boundary wire which generates magnetic field therearound when supplied with electric current and having a magnetic sensor that produces an output indicating intensity of magnetic field generated by the boundary wire and a position determining unit that determine a position of the vehicle with respect to the working area based on the output of the magnetic sensor, a coded data signal determined to be inherent to the working area is generated and supplied to the electric current, and the position determining unit detects the data signal and determines the position of the vehicle based on a rate of concordance of the detected data signal and a reference signal.

Control, apparatus for autonomously navigating utility vehicle

A charging station for a utility vehicle that detects a magnetic field generated by electric current flowing through a boundary wire, there are provided with a base plate installed at the working area to retain the vehicle and provided with a pair of charging terminals connectable with battery charging terminals of the onboard battery, a first wire having a first loop and first projecting segments that project from the first loop toward the base plate, and a second wire installed at the base plate and is connected to the electric power supply independently of the boundary wire and the first wire and having a second loop and second projecting segments that project from the second loop toward the base plate symmetrically with the first projecting segments.

Charging station for utility vehicle

In an apparatus for controlling operation of an autonomously navigating utility vehicle equipped with a prime mover to travel about a working area delineated by a boundary wire laid thereat in order to perform work autonomously, there are provided with a working region establishing unit that divides the working area into multiple regions by an imaginary boundary line designated by an operator and establishes a preferential working region in the working area, and a travel controlling unit that controls operation of the prime mover to make the vehicle travel autonomously in the preferential working region, discriminates whether the vehicle has reached the imaginary boundary line based on a detected vehicle position detector, and when the vehicle has reached the imaginary boundary line, controlling operation of the prime mover to make the vehicle turn toward inside of the preferential working region.

Control apparatus for autonomously navigating utility vehicle

An apparatus for controlling operation of an autonomously navigating utility vehicle equipped with a prime mover to travel about a working area delineated by a boundary wire laid thereat and divided into a first area and a second area connected by a third area that is narrower than the first and second areas, there are provided with a first travel controlling unit that controls operation of the prime mover to make the vehicle travel along the boundary wire based on a detected magnetic field, a third area identifying unit that identifies a location of the third area in the working area based on a detected position of the vehicle when the vehicle is controlled to travel by the first travel controlling unit, and a second travel controlling unit that controls operation of the prime mover to make the vehicle travel forward toward an entrance of the third area whose location is identified by the third area identifying unit based on the position of the vehicle detected from the output of the position sensor.

In an apparatus for controlling operation of a utility vehicle that runs a working area to perform work by a work unit, there provided with a set mowing height inputting unit configured to input a mowing height of lawn mowing work set by a user, a desired mowing height setting unit configured to set a desired mowing height based on the set mowing height inputted by the set mowing height inputting unit, and a mowing height regulating unit configured to regulate height from ground surface of the work unit based on the desired mowing height set by the desired mowing height setting unit.

Control apparatus for utility vehicle that controls mowing height

In a charging station for charging a battery installed on an autonomously navigating utility vehicle equipped with a prime mover powered by the battery to travel about a working area delineated by a boundary wire, there are provided with a pair of charging terminals installed on the station to be capable of connecting with a pair of charging terminals installed on the vehicle, a first wire installed on the station at a location inside of the working area and being formed as a circular shape having a center, and a second wire installed on the station to be formed as a shape that is symmetrical with respect to a center line obtained by connecting a midpoint of the terminals and the center of the first wire.

Charging station and charging station guide for autonomously navigating utility vehicle

In an apparatus for controlling operation of an autonomously navigating utility vehicle equipped with a prime mover to travel about a working area delineated by a boundary wire in order to perform work autonomously, there are provided with an objective location identifying unit that identifies a location of an objective in the working area, a route generating unit that generates a target return route for the vehicle to return to the objective, and a travel controlling unit that controls operation of the prime mover to make the vehicle travel along the target return route. The route generating unit selects, among a first set of radial lines imaginarily drawn on the working area to radiate from the position of the vehicle and a second set of radial lines imaginarily drawn on the working area to radiate from the objective, a first radial line and a second radial line that result in shortest distance from the position of the vehicle to the objective and generates the target return route by the first radial line and the second radial line.

In an arrangement of an area wire for an unmanned autonomous operating vehicle having an electric motor supplied with power from a battery for operating an operating machine, and magnetic sensors for detecting intensity of a magnetic field of the area wire and controlled to run about in an operating area defined by the area wire to perform an operation using the operating machine and to return to a charging device installed on the area wire so as to charge the battery, there are provided with a charging device detecting area set to be used for detecting a position of the charging device, and a turn-back portion formed by bending the area wire at an appropriate position toward the charging device detecting area and again bending the area wire to return in a same direction with a predetermined space, whereby the operating area is divided into a plurality of zones.

Growing community of inventors

Wako, Japan

Toshiaki Kawakami