Automated Ground Distance Control for Precise Vehicle Stopping
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Agricultural vehicles face challenges in precisely controlling the distance of travel, leading to potential product loss when towing implements like grain carts, as operators may misjudge stop locations, causing grain to be deflected by obstructions and unloaded outside the storage trailer.
Innovation Solution
A system with a transmission actuator and brake actuator, controlled by a processor, automatically adjusts power transfer and braking to ensure the vehicle stops at a target location within a specified distance tolerance, using sensors and controllers to measure and maintain accurate distance and speed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If an operator manually controls the stopping location of the agricultural vehicle, then the system remains simple and easy to operate, but the stopping precision deteriorates leading to product loss
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical control with an automated control system that uses sensors to detect the target location and controllers to actuate the transmission and brake systems. This substitution of mechanical operator judgment with an automated sensing and control system directly resolves the contradiction by achieving precise stopping without relying on operator skill while managing complexity through systematic automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback control loop where sensors continuously monitor the vehicle's position and distance to the target location, and controllers adjust transmission and brake actuation based on this feedback. This closed-loop feedback mechanism ensures precise stopping by constantly comparing actual position with desired position and making real-time adjustments, resolving the precision-complexity contradiction through intelligent control.
2Loss of substance
If the vehicle stops too early or too late due to operator misjudgment, then the operation remains simple, but grain product is deflected by obstructions and lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces operator visual judgment with electronic sensing systems that precisely measure distance to the target location. This substitution eliminates human error in distance estimation, ensuring the vehicle stops at the correct position and preventing grain deflection and product loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary detection of the target location and calculation of the optimal stopping point before the vehicle reaches it. The controller pre-calculates when to begin deceleration and when to apply brakes based on the measured distance and vehicle speed, ensuring precise stopping before grain unloading begins, thereby preventing product loss.
3Manufacturing precision
If automated distance control is implemented, then stopping precision improves, but the device complexity increases due to additional actuators and controllers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the transmission actuator and brake actuator to serve multiple functions: the transmission actuator controls both speed regulation and power delivery, while the brake actuator handles both deceleration and stopping. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated components for each function, managing overall system complexity while achieving precise stopping control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the transmission control and brake control into a coordinated system managed by integrated controllers that simultaneously manage multiple actuators. By merging the control functions and coordinating the actuators work, the system achieves precise stopping control while avoiding the complexity of completely separate independent control systems.
Data Source
AI summary
Ground distance control for automated vehicles wherein operation of at least a transmission and/or braking system(s) can be controlled in response to a generated distance request to achieve an identified travel distance, as well as to satisfy a maximum force or thrust command. As the vehicle travels, a measured distance can be tallied such that the measured distance increases when the vehicle travels in a first direction, and decreases when the vehicle travels in a second direction. The system can automatically determine a distance to be traveled, in terms of the measured distance, before commands are to operate a brake actuator and/or transmission actuator to decelerate and/or stop the movement of the vehicle. The system can further evaluate whether the measured distance at the location at which the vehicle actually stopped is within a distance tolerance of the distance request. The measured distance may be reset at key-on or key-off.