Combine Auto-Steering with Parallel Travel Line Display
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing working vehicles, such as combines, lack the ability to easily set a setting traveling line parallel to a reference traveling line, leading to potential misalignment and repeated adjustments during automatic steering.
Innovation Solution
A working vehicle equipped with an operation unit, display unit, reference traveling line acquisition unit, location information acquisition unit, field information acquisition unit, and traveling control unit, which allows for the display of a setting traveling line parallel to a reference line and enables automatic steering based on location and field information, with visual indicators for alignment and offset correction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If automatic steering is started without displaying the setting traveling line in advance, then the system is simple to operate, but the positioning accuracy and alignment precision deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The display control unit displays the setting traveling line on the display unit before automatic steering is activated. This preliminary display allows the operator to verify the correct positioning and alignment of the traveling line with the field boundary before actual automatic steering begins, preventing misalignment issues while maintaining simple operation through automated display generation
2Device complexity
If the setting traveling line is not displayed before automatic steering, then the device complexity is reduced, but the manufacturing precision and alignment accuracy worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically generates and displays the setting traveling line based on field information acquired from the field information acquisition unit. The display control unit automatically calculates the parallel offset distance and positions the traveling line without requiring manual intervention, making the system self-sufficient while ensuring precise alignment with the field boundary
3Measurement precision
If the setting traveling line is displayed with visual indicators, then the measurement precision improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The display control unit uses different colors to represent various elements: the setting traveling line is displayed in a first color, the field boundary in a second color, and offset information in a third color. This color-coding system provides intuitive visual feedback for alignment verification without requiring complex display hardware or interfaces
Data Source
AI summary
A combine includes an operation unit; a display unit; a reference traveling line unit that acquires a reference traveling line indicating a direction of traveling; a location information unit that acquires location information indicating a location of a host vehicle; a field information unit that acquires field information indicating a location of an outer edge of an unworked land in a field; a display control unit that displays, on the display unit, the outer edge of the unworked land and a setting traveling line which is parallel to the reference traveling line and in which the location of the host vehicle indicated by the latest location information is set as a reference point; and a traveling control unit that makes the host vehicle travel along the setting traveling line based on the operation unit receiving an operation of switching from manual steering to the automatic steering.