Grade Control Display Scaling for Precise Work Machine Grading
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current work machines lack a standardized interface for grade control displays, limiting the amount and type of information communicated to operators, which hampers precise grading operations.
Innovation Solution
A display system for work machines with grade control, featuring a movable grading element, actuators, sensors, and a controller that adjusts display metrics, scales, and colors based on detection signals to provide real-time feedback on the grading element's position relative to target zones and tolerances.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If LED light bars are used to communicate grading position, then the system is simple and reliable, but the amount and type of information communicated to the operator is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The display system dynamically adjusts the scale of display elements based on the grading element's position relative to the target zone. When the grading element is far from the target, a smaller scale is used to show overall position. When approaching the target, the scale increases to provide more detailed information, thereby increasing information delivery without requiring a completely different display system.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes multiple display parameters including scale, color, and information content based on the detected position of the grading element. The scale parameter is adjusted to expand or contract display elements, color parameters change to indicate proximity to target, and this allows the same hardware to communicate vastly different amounts of information depending on operational context.
2Measurement precision
If a fixed scale display is used, then the display system is simple, but it cannot provide adequate detail when the grading element is close to the target zone
Solution Approach 1:
The display scale is made dynamic rather than fixed. The controller continuously adjusts the scale of display elements based on real-time position data from sensors. When the grading element is far from the target, a compressed scale is used. When close to the target, the scale expands to show finer position details, enabling precise measurement communication without complex additional hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The display information is segmented into different scale levels. The same display physical space is used to represent different measurement precisions by segmenting the information density. This allows the system to provide both coarse position information when far from target and fine position information when close, using the same display hardware.
3Loss of information
If the display shows all possible grading information, then complete information is provided, but the display becomes cluttered and difficult to interpret
Solution Approach 1:
Different parts of the display are assigned different information densities based on the operational context. When the grading element is far from the target, the display shows lower-density information. When close to the target, specific regions of the display expand to show higher-density local information about position precision, maintaining overall interpretability while providing complete information when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The display dynamically reconfigures its information presentation based on position. Rather than showing all information statically, the system adjusts which information is prominent and at what scale based on real-time position data. This dynamic reconfiguration ensures complete information is available but presented in an interpretable, non-cluttered manner appropriate to the current operational phase.
Data Source
AI summary
A display system and method for a work machine having grade control is disclosed. The display system includes the frame of the work machine, a grading element, an actuator, a grade control system, a display, a sensor, and a controller. The actuator is coupled to the grading element to controllably drive movement of the movable grading element. The display is configured to display information related to movement of the grading element relative to a target zone. The sensor provides detection signals from which a distance between a position of the grading element and the target zone can be determined. The controller has a non-transitory computer readable medium with a program instruction to grade the surface. The program instructions when executed causes a processor the controller to do the following. The controller receives the detection signals and changes the scale of the display information based on the detection signals.