Auger Robot 3D Surface Mapping for Bulk Granular Stores

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Solution Overview

Problem

Bulk storage of granular materials poses safety concerns due to hazardous environments, including entrapments, explosions, and health risks, as workers must enter hot, dusty, and poorly lit spaces to manage piled materials, which can lead to falls, entrapments, and long-term health issues like Farmer's Lung.

Innovation Solution

A robotic device with an auger-based drive system that can operate autonomously or remotely to manage granular materials by leveling, agitating, and mapping the surface, reducing the need for human entry and mitigating safety hazards through slope adjustment, crust removal, and environmental monitoring.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If workers manually manage piled granular material in bulk stores, then material handling operations can be performed, but safety risks increase due to entrapments, falls, explosions, and health hazards

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveworker safetyVSAvoidhazardous environment exposure

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces manual mechanical operations with an automated robotic system equipped with sensors, processors, and actuators. The robotic device autonomously traverses the bulk store, maps the granular material surface, and performs leveling operations without human intervention, eliminating workers from hazardous environments while maintaining operational capability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The robotic system is self-sufficient, using its own onboard sensors to detect surface conditions, process data to determine leveling requirements, and execute corrections autonomously. The system serves itself by independently navigating, mapping, and managing the granular material without requiring external human control or intervention

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

2Productivity

If workers enter bulk stores to manage granular material, then material operations can be performed, but health risks increase due to dust exposure and long-term conditions like Farmer's Lung

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvematerial management capabilityVSAvoiddust and health hazards

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent substitutes human workers with an automated robotic system that performs all material management operations. The robotic device equipped with sensors and processing capabilities executes mapping, leveling, and monitoring tasks autonomously, completely eliminating human exposure to dust and health hazards while maintaining full operational productivity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The robotic system acts as an intermediary between the operator and the hazardous granular material environment. It performs all intermediate functions of material management, data collection, and surface correction, serving as a barrier that protects human workers from direct contact with harmful dust and atmospheric conditions

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Measurement precision

If traditional manual methods are used to map and manage piled material, then operations can be performed, but measurement precision and mapping accuracy are insufficient

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesurface mapping accuracyVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The robotic system integrates multiple functions into a single device: navigation, surface mapping using sensors, data processing, and material leveling. This multi-functional approach achieves high measurement precision while consolidating complexity into one autonomous system rather than requiring separate manual operations for each function

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces imprecise manual measurement and mapping methods with automated sensor-based detection and digital data processing. The robotic system uses sensors to accurately capture surface geometry and characteristics, processes this data computationally to identify deviations, and executes precise corrective actions, achieving measurement precision unattainable through manual methods

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS20230068940A1Mapping piled granular material in a bulk store

Publication Date: 2023.03.02 GRAIN WEEVIL CORP

AI summary

A robot comprises an auger-based drive system, a memory, and a processor coupled with the memory and configured to control movement of the robot relative to a piled granular material in a bulk store, via the auger-based drive system, such that the robot traverses a first surface of the piled granular material in a mapping pattern. The processor is further configured to record a plurality of three-dimensional locations of the robot during the traversal in the mapping pattern. The processor or a computer system coupled with the processor is configured to assemble the plurality of three-dimensional locations of the robot into a three-dimensional surface map of the first surface of the piled granular material.