Receiving Vehicle Fill-Level Communication for Harvest Routing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inefficient logistical operations in harvesting due to lack of real-time communication of fill levels between mobile harvesters and receiving vehicles, leading to idle harvesters and inefficient vehicle routing.
Innovation Solution
A mobile harvester system that detects the fill level of receiving vehicles and generates an estimate of when or where the vehicle will reach its target capacity, communicating this information to mobile applications on other receiving vehicles to optimize routing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If real-time fill level communication is implemented between harvesters and receiving vehicles, then logistical efficiency and harvesting continuity are improved, but system complexity and communication infrastructure requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by having the harvester detect and communicate fill level information back to receiving vehicles. The fill level detection system monitors the receiving vehicle's capacity and sends this information to other vehicles via communication system, enabling operators to make informed routing decisions and maintain continuous harvesting operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses mobile devices with mobile applications as intermediaries between the harvester's fill level detection system and the receiving vehicles' operators. The communication system acts as a mediator that transmits fill level information to multiple receiving vehicles, allowing them to self-coordinate without direct control from the harvester operator.
2Quantity of substance
If multiple harvesters operate in a single field with multiple haulage units, then overall harvesting capacity increases, but vehicle routing efficiency decreases due to lack of coordination information
Solution Approach 1:
Each harvester provides feedback about its current fill level status to all receiving vehicles through the communication system. This allows receiving vehicle operators to identify which harvesters are ready to unload and navigate directly to them, eliminating waiting time and enabling efficient coordination among multiple harvesters and vehicles operating simultaneously.
3Ease of operation
If operators of receiving vehicles manually monitor fill levels, then system simplicity is maintained, but information accuracy and response time deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service by having the fill level detection and communication systems automatically monitor and transmit information without requiring manual intervention from operators. The receiving vehicles autonomously receive accurate fill level data through their mobile applications, eliminating the need for operators to manually track or estimate capacity levels.
Data Source
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AI summary
An automatic fill control system on a material loading vehicle generates an output indicative of a current fill level of a receiving vehicle into which the material loading vehicle is loading material. A fill level processing system generates a fill parameter indicative of when the receiving vehicle will reach a target capacity. The fill parameter is communicated to a mobile application on a mobile device in a receiving vehicle.