EP-4737141-A1 - WORK VEHICLE

EP4737141A1EP 4737141 A1EP4737141 A1EP 4737141A1EP-4737141-A1

Abstract

Provided is a working vehicle to change the height of the vehicle body according to various situations such as the type of work. A working vehicle (1) includes a vehicle body (2), a traveling device (3) to support the vehicle body (2) such that the vehicle body (2) is allowed to travel, and a height changing mechanism (90) to change a height of the vehicle body (2) that is a distance of the vehicle body (2) from a ground surface. The height changing mechanism (90) is configured to change the height of the vehicle body (2) to any height between a first height (HA) and a second height (HB) higher than the first height (HA).

Inventors

SOEJIMA, MASARU
MIYAZAKI, MAKOTO
TAKEDA, KAZUYA
MAKINO, RYOTA
ITO, DAIGO
MATSUOKA, Ginji
SAKANO, TOMOYOSHI
YOSHIDOME, Kazuhiro
FUKUDA, Ryosuke

Assignees

KUBOTA CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260506
Application Date: 20240621

Claims (20)

A working vehicle comprising: a vehicle body; a traveling device to support the vehicle body such that the vehicle body is allowed to travel; and a height changing mechanism to change a height of the vehicle body that is a distance of the vehicle body from a ground surface; wherein the height changing mechanism is configured to change the height of the vehicle body to any height between a first height and a second height higher than the first height.
The working vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a mount provided on the vehicle body to attach and detach a working device thereto and therefrom; wherein the height changing mechanism is configured to change the height of the vehicle body according to work performed by the working device.
The working vehicle according to claim 2, further comprising a recognizer to recognize the working device attached to the mount; wherein the height changing mechanism is configured to change the height of the vehicle body according to the working device recognized by the recognizer.
The working vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a manual operator to be operated to indicate the height of the vehicle body; wherein the height changing mechanism is configured to change the height of the vehicle body according to the indication of the height via the manual operator.
The working vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the height changing mechanism is configured to: control the height of the vehicle body to be a first work height when the working device attached to the mount is a first working device; and control the height of the vehicle body to be a second work height when the working device attached to the mount is a second working device different from the first working device.
The working vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the height changing mechanism is configured to control the height of the vehicle body to be equal to or greater than the first height when a crop planted in the ground surface is a first crop.
The working vehicle according to claim 6, wherein the height changing mechanism is configured to, when the crop planted in the ground surface is a second crop higher than the first crop, control the height of the vehicle body to be greater than a predetermined height of the vehicle body corresponding to the first crop and equal to or less than the second height.
The working vehicle according to claim 7, wherein the height changing mechanism is configured to use the predetermined height of the vehicle body corresponding to the first crop that is higher than the first crop, and a predetermined height of the vehicle body corresponding to the second crop that is higher than the second crop.
The working vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the traveling device includes one or more wheels; and the height changing mechanism is configured to change the height of the vehicle body between the first height at which a position of the vehicle body in an up-down direction overlaps a position of the one or more wheels in the up-down direction and the second height at which the vehicle body is located higher than the one or more wheels in the up-down direction.
The working vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the height changing mechanism is configured to change the height of the vehicle body between the first height at which a position of the vehicle body in an up-down direction overlaps a position of the traveling device in the up-down direction and the second height at which the vehicle body is located higher than the traveling device in the up-down direction.
The working vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the traveling device includes a left traveling device located leftward of the vehicle body and a right traveling device located rightward of the vehicle body; the vehicle body is located between the left traveling device and the right traveling device; and the height changing mechanism is configured to change the height of the vehicle body by raising or lowering the vehicle body at a location between the left traveling device and the right traveling device.
The working vehicle according to claim 11, further comprising a frame structure provided at a periphery of the vehicle body and attached to the vehicle body; wherein the frame structure includes: a left frame located leftward of the vehicle body to extend in an up-down direction; a right frame located rightward of the vehicle body to extend in the up-down direction; and a lateral frame connecting an upper portion of the left frame and an upper portion of the right frame; the vehicle body is positioned such that the vehicle body is in an area defined by the left frame, the right frame, and the lateral frame in a front view; and the height changing mechanism is configured to change the height of the vehicle body that is the distance of the vehicle body from the ground surface by raising or lowering the frame structure.
The working vehicle according to claim 12, wherein the height changing mechanism includes a lifting cylinder including a rod to extend and retract in the up-down direction and configured to raise and lower the frame structure; and the lifting cylinder includes a lower end positioned at the same or substantially the same height from the ground surface as the height of the vehicle body when the vehicle body is at the first height.
The working vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising: a situation detector to detect a situation in a surrounding area of the vehicle body; a height detector to detect the height of the vehicle body that is the distance of the vehicle body from the ground surface; and a controller configured or programmed to actuate the height changing mechanism based on detection results from the situation detector and the height detector to change the height of the vehicle body.
The working vehicle according to claim 14, wherein the situation detector is configured to detect, as the situation in the surrounding area of the vehicle body, a height of an obstacle on the ground surface that hinders travel; and the controller is configured or programmed to compare the height of the obstacle detected by the situation detector with the height of the vehicle body detected by the height detector, and actuate the height changing mechanism to change the height of the vehicle body such that the changed height of the vehicle body is equal to or greater than the height of the obstacle.
The working vehicle according to claim 15, wherein the situation detector is configured to detect, as the height of the obstacle, a height of a crop planted in the ground surface.
The working vehicle according to claim 16, wherein the situation detector is configured to detect the height of the crop located forward of the vehicle body in a direction of travel of the vehicle body; and the controller is configured or programmed to actuate the height changing mechanism to change the height of the vehicle body during or before travel of the vehicle body to reach the crop located in front of the vehicle body in the direction of travel of the vehicle body.
The working vehicle according to claim 16, wherein the situation detector is configured to, while the vehicle body is traveling along a first row of one or more crops, detect a height of one or more crops in a second row adjacent to the first row; and the controller is configured or programmed to actuate the height changing mechanism to change the height of the vehicle body while the vehicle body which has finished traveling along the first row is turning to start traveling along the second row.
A working vehicle comprising: a vehicle body; a traveling device to support the vehicle body such that the vehicle body is allowed to travel; and a height changing mechanism to change a height of the vehicle body that is a distance of the vehicle body from a ground surface; wherein the traveling device includes a left traveling device located leftward of the vehicle body and a right traveling device located rightward of the vehicle body; the vehicle body is located between the left traveling device and the right traveling device; and the height changing mechanism is configured to raise and lower the vehicle body at a location between the left traveling device and the right traveling device in a width direction of the vehicle body.
The working vehicle according to claim 19, further comprising a power supply apparatus to generate power to drive the traveling device; wherein the vehicle body includes a housing frame to house the power supply apparatus.

Description

Technical Field The present invention relates to a working vehicle to perform work such as agricultural work. Background Art The working vehicle disclosed in PTL 1 has been known. The working vehicle (management machine) disclosed in PTL 1 includes a vehicle body (machine body), a traveling device, and a working device (spreader). The traveling device includes a left traveling device located leftward of the vehicle body and a right traveling device located rightward of the vehicle body. Citation List Patent Literature PTL 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2020-103233 Summary of Invention Technical Problem The above-described working vehicle is configured to spread a liquid substance by the working device (spreader) to plants and the like planted in an agricultural field, and the working device (spreader) is provided at a height suitable for spraying work. However, this working vehicle cannot change the height of the vehicle body. Thus, for example, even if a working device to perform work different from spraying work is attached to the vehicle body for the work, the height of the vehicle body cannot be changed to a height suitable for the work. In short, the height of the vehicle body cannot be changed according to the type and the like of the work. The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described problem, and it is an object to provide working vehicles each of which can change the height of the vehicle body according to various situations such as the type and the like of the work. The above-described working vehicle may perform work (spraying of an agricultural chemical and the like), for example, while traveling with crops and the like planted in an agricultural field located between the left and right traveling devices. However, the above-described working vehicle cannot change the height of the vehicle body relative to the ground surface. Thus, when the height of crops is higher than an expected height, the working vehicle may be unable to travel with the crops located between the left and right traveling devices. Even if the height of the vehicle body is attempted to be changed, part of the traveling devices, for example, is present between the left and right traveling devices, thus the vehicle body cannot be raised or lowered between the left and right traveling devices. Therefore, it is difficult for the working vehicle to travel with the crops reliably located between the left and right traveling devices. The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described problem, and it is an object to provide working vehicles each of which can travel with crops and the like reliably located between the left and right traveling devices. Solution to Problem A working vehicle according to an example embodiment of the present invention includes a vehicle body, a traveling device to support the vehicle body such that the vehicle body is allowed to travel, and a height changing mechanism to change a height of the vehicle body that is a distance of the vehicle body from a ground surface, wherein the height changing mechanism is configured to change the height of the vehicle body to any height between a first height and a second height higher than the first height. The working vehicle may further include a mount provided on the vehicle body to attach and detach a working device thereto and therefrom. The height changing mechanism may be configured to change the height of the vehicle body according to work performed by the working device. The working vehicle may further include a recognizer to recognize the working device attached to the mount. The height changing mechanism may be configured to change the height of the vehicle body according to the working device recognized by the recognizer. The working vehicle may further include a manual operator to be operated to indicate the height of the vehicle body. The height changing mechanism may be configured to change the height of the vehicle body according to the indication of the height via the manual operator. The height changing mechanism may be configured to control the height of the vehicle body to be a first work height when the working device attached to the mount is a first working device, and control the height of the vehicle body to be a second work height when the working device attached to the mount is a second working device different from the first working device. The height changing mechanism may be configured to control the height of the vehicle body to be equal to or greater than the first height when a crop planted in the ground surface is a first crop. The height changing mechanism may be configured to, when the crop planted in the ground surface is a second crop higher than the first crop, control the height of the vehicle body to be greater than a predetermined height of the vehicle body corresponding to the first crop and equal to or less than the second height. The height chang