Unmanned Lawn Mower Maintenance Alerts Based on Operating State

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for notifying maintenance time for unmanned lawn mowers are inefficient as they rely on cumulative work time, which varies by machine, leading to excessive maintenance.

Innovation Solution

An unmanned work system and management server that transmit and store operation information, including average load values and image data, to determine maintenance necessity based on criteria such as blade abrasion and dirt accumulation, allowing for timely and appropriate maintenance notifications.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If cumulative work time is used to determine maintenance timing, then maintenance can be notified based on simple counting, but maintenance is excessively performed because the cumulative work time varies with individual machines

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemaintenance notification methodVSAvoidmaintenance timing accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the parameter basis for maintenance notification from cumulative work time to real-time operation state parameters (vibration, temperature, acoustic emission signals). This allows maintenance timing to be determined by actual machine condition rather than fixed time accumulation, preventing both excessive and insufficient maintenance while improving notification accuracy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements continuous monitoring of operation states and provides feedback to determine maintenance timing. By collecting real-time data from sensors and comparing it against threshold values or historical patterns, the system dynamically adjusts maintenance notifications based on actual machine condition, resolving the contradiction between simple notification methods and accurate timing.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Device complexity

If maintenance is performed based on fixed cumulative work time thresholds, then the maintenance schedule is simple to manage, but unnecessary maintenance occurs reducing productivity

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemaintenance management systemVSAvoidwork efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The unmanned work machine autonomously monitors its own operation states and determines when maintenance is needed without external intervention. The machine self-diagnoses by analyzing sensor data and automatically generates maintenance notifications, eliminating the need for complex external management systems while preventing unnecessary maintenance that would reduce productivity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary detection of abnormal operation states before actual failure occurs. By continuously monitoring vibration, temperature, and acoustic emission signals and comparing them against predetermined thresholds or learned normal patterns, the system notifies maintenance in advance, preventing both unnecessary maintenance and actual failures that would halt productivity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP3579155B1Unmanned work system, management server, and unmanned work machine
Publication Date: 2021.11.17 HONDA MOTOR CO LTD
  • EP3579155B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3579155B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3579155B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

To appropriately notify maintenance of an unmanned work machine. In an unmanned lawn mowing system 1 including a plurality of unmanned lawn mowers 2 that perform work while traveling without a human operator and a management server 6, each of the unmanned lawn mowers 2 and the management server 6 communicating with each other, each of the unmanned lawn mowers 2 includes an information transmission section 44 that transmits operation information 52 including information indicating a work state to the management server 6, and the management server 6 includes: a case storage section 68 that stores a case related to a failure in and/or a case related to maintenance of each of the unmanned lawn mowers 2 in association with the operation information 52 from each unmanned lawn mower 2 from which the case or cases derive; a maintenance determination section 64 that determines, when the operation information 52 transmitted from each of the unmanned lawn mowers 2 is acquired, whether or not maintenance of the unmanned lawn mower 2 is necessary, based on the case associated with operation information identical or similar to the operation information 52; and a maintenance notification transmission section 66 that notifies maintenance to the unmanned lawn mowers 2, based on a determination result made by the maintenance determination section 64.