Agriculture Implement Monitoring via Hydraulic Sensor Feedback
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Agricultural machinery operation monitoring systems lack effective methods for real-time status tracking and maintenance scheduling, leading to inefficient maintenance and potential equipment failures due to lack of timely service and inspection.
Innovation Solution
An agriculture operation monitoring system that includes sensors, a local control element, and a wireless communication element to transmit operational status messages to a data storage and processing system, enabling local determination of service needs and maintaining a record of operational history, even when the equipment is sold.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional manual maintenance scheduling is used, then equipment may be maintained on fixed intervals, but maintenance timing is not optimized leading to either premature maintenance or equipment failures
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors operational parameters (hydraulic pressure, temperature, usage hours) and feeds this data back to determine when maintenance is actually needed. This feedback loop replaces fixed-schedule maintenance with condition-based maintenance, ensuring equipment is serviced at optimal moments rather than arbitrary intervals.
Solution Approach 2:
The equipment autonomously tracks its own operational status and generates maintenance alerts without external intervention. The onboard control unit processes sensor data and determines maintenance timing independently, enabling the system to self-monitor and self-report service needs.
2Loss of information
If operational data is stored only on the work vehicle, then data is accessible during operation, but data is lost when equipment is sold or transferred
Solution Approach 1:
The system combines local onboard storage with remote cloud-based storage. Operational data is simultaneously archived on the work vehicle and transmitted to external servers, creating redundant copies. This merging ensures data persistence across equipment transfers while distributing the storage burden.
Solution Approach 2:
A wireless communication interface acts as an intermediary between the onboard control system and external data storage infrastructure. This mediator enables automatic data upload to cloud services or farmer interfaces, bridging the gap between equipment-level monitoring and farm-level data management.
3Measurement precision
If comprehensive sensor monitoring is implemented, then operational status is accurately tracked, but system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring system is segmented into modular functional units: hydraulic pressure sensors, temperature sensors, usage hour counters, and a control unit. Each sensor monitors a specific parameter independently, and the control unit processes individual sensor inputs separately. This segmentation enables selective deployment based on equipment needs.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit serves multiple functions: it processes data from various sensor types, determines maintenance timing, generates alerts, and manages data storage. This multi-functional design consolidates complexity into a single processing unit rather than requiring separate systems for each function.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to an agriculture operation monitoring system comprises at least one implement adapted to be mounted to a work vehicle, a wireless communication element, and a data storage and processing system. The implement comprises one or a plurality of sensors arranged to obtain sensor signals related to at least one hydraulic function of the implement and a local control element. The local control element is arranged to receive sensor signals obtained by the at least one sensor, to determine at least one present setting related to an operational status of the implement based on the received sensor signals and to feed a status message related to the present setting to the wireless communication element. The wireless communication element is arranged to transmit the status message to the data storage and processing system or to at least one electronic user device.