Method for automatically operating a moving soil-working implement

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Solution Overview

Problem

Self-propelled soil tillage implements often get stuck in challenging environments, and existing technologies lack effective means for users to understand the situation leading to errors without constant monitoring, hindering timely intervention.

Innovation Solution

A method where a recording device captures image sequences or videos of the surroundings, storing them for later analysis. Upon detecting an error state, a temporally defined sub-sequence is extracted and displayed to the user, allowing them to understand the situation before the error occurred, enabling targeted rectification. This can be viewed on an external device, facilitating remote control and action options to resolve the issue.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If a recording device captures and stores image sequences continuously, then users can analyze the situation leading to errors, but storage capacity is consumed and data management becomes complex

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinformation about error situationVSAvoidstorage capacity
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts only the relevant temporal portion of the recording - specifically the time segment immediately preceding the error state - rather than storing or transmitting the entire continuous recording. This extraction principle reduces the quantity of data that needs to be stored and transmitted while preserving the essential information needed for error analysis.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary segmentation of the recording into time segments during normal operation, preparing the data structure in advance so that when an error occurs, only the relevant pre-segmented portion needs to be retrieved and transmitted. This preliminary organization of data reduces the computational and storage burden.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If users constantly monitor the soil tillage implement during operation, then they can immediately detect error states, but this requires continuous attention and intervention

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveerror detectionVSAvoiduser monitoring requirement
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system automatically detects error states through sensors and autonomously determines when to extract and transmit relevant recording segments without requiring continuous user monitoring. The implement essentially monitors itself and only seeks user intervention when actually needed, flipping the paradigm from continuous human supervision to automated self-monitoring with on-demand human input.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system provides feedback to the user only when an error state is detected, transmitting the relevant time segment of the recording at that specific moment. This feedback mechanism eliminates the need for continuous monitoring while ensuring users receive critical information promptly when problems occur.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Loss of information

If the recording device stores long periods of data, then complete error context is available, but data transmission time and processing load increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveerror context informationVSAvoiddata transmission time
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts only the specific time segment containing the error context - typically a short interval immediately preceding the error - rather than transmitting the entire recording or long periods of data. This extraction minimizes transmission time and processing load while preserving the essential contextual information needed to understand the error.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The system transmits only the partial portion of the recording that is sufficient for error analysis - the time segment containing the error context - rather than transmitting the complete recording. This partial action approach provides adequate information for diagnosing the error without the excessive time and resource costs of transmitting full-length recordings.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentEP3376328B1Method for automatically operating a moving soil-working implement
Publication Date: 2020.08.26 VORWERK & CO INTERHOLDING GMBH
  • EP3376328B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3376328B1 patent drawingFigure 3
  • EP3376328B1 patent drawingFigure 4

AI summary

The invention relates to a method for operating an automatically moving soil tillage implement 1, with a recording device 2 of the soil tillage implement 1 taking a picture of an environment 3 of the soil tillage implement 1 relating to a period of time, the picture being shown to a user of the soil tillage implement 1 on a display 4. In order to enable error states to be corrected optimally, it is proposed that the recording is saved and, in the event of a defined environmental event and/or device status of the soil tillage implement 1, a time-defined partial sequence is subsequently extracted from the saved recording and displayed on the display 4.