Autonomous Route Linking for Aligned Work Vehicle Paths

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing autonomous travel systems for work vehicles face challenges in efficiently managing and aligning multiple travel routes within the same field, requiring manual adjustments and separate management of routes with turning and without turning, which complicates the creation and switching processes.

Innovation Solution

An autonomous travel system incorporating a first and second travel route creation unit, an interlocking route creation unit, a storage unit, a route selection unit, and a travel control unit, which allows for the automatic creation and alignment of travel routes with overlapping straight routes, enabling efficient management and switching between routes without manual adjustments.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If multiple travel routes are created separately in the same field, then each route can be optimized for specific work requirements, but manual adjustment of route positions becomes necessary and management becomes complicated

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveroute optimizationVSAvoidroute management
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the management of multiple travel routes by establishing hierarchical relationships between parent routes and child routes. Child routes inherit positional parameters from the parent route, automatically aligning their straight route positions without manual adjustment. This combining approach simplifies route management while maintaining the ability to optimize individual routes for specific work requirements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary action by pre-defining parent routes with optimal positions before creating child routes. When child routes are generated, they automatically inherit the parent's positional parameters, eliminating the need for subsequent manual position adjustments. This preliminary setup streamlines the overall route creation and management process.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Ease of operation

If travel routes are created independently without interlocking, then each route can be created flexibly, but position alignment between routes requires manual adjustment

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveroute creationVSAvoidroute position alignment
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements feedback mechanisms where child routes automatically receive positional information from parent routes. This feedback loop ensures that when a parent route is created or modified, all associated child routes automatically align their straight route positions with the parent, maintaining precision without manual intervention while preserving creation flexibility.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The parent route serves multiple functions: it acts as a standalone travel route and simultaneously serves as a template for generating child routes. This multi-functionality allows the parent route's positional parameters to be universally applied to all child routes, ensuring automatic position alignment while maintaining ease of route creation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Adaptability or versatility

If separate route creation processes are used for routes with and without turning, then each route type can be optimized, but the creation process becomes more tedious and time-consuming

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveroute type optimizationVSAvoidroute creation efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the route creation process into parent route creation and child route generation. The parent route captures common positional parameters, while child routes inherit these parameters and can be quickly generated with minimal additional input. This segmentation maintains the ability to optimize for different route types while dramatically improving creation efficiency through automated inheritance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses copying by allowing child routes to inherit positional parameters from the parent route. Instead of recreating position information for each route type, the system copies the parent's positional data to child routes, automatically aligning them. This copying mechanism preserves route type optimization capabilities while reducing the tedium and time of route creation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentEP3919999B1Autonomous travel system
Publication Date: 2025.07.30 YANMAR POWER TECH CO LTD
  • EP3919999B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3919999B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3919999B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An autonomous travel system equipped with a first travel route creation unit, a second travel route creation unit, a linked route creation unit, and a storage unit. The first travel route creation unit is capable of creating a first travel route. The second travel route creation unit is capable of creating a second travel route. The linked route creation unit has a function for creating the second travel route in conjunction with the creation of the first travel route by the first travel route creation unit and/or a function for creating the first travel route in conjunction with the creation of the second travel route by the second travel route creation unit. The storage unit stores, in association with each other, the travel route created by the first travel route creation unit or the second travel route creation unit, and the travel route created by the linked route creation unit.