Loader Attachment Usage Monitoring for Accurate Maintenance Alerts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for scheduling maintenance of work vehicle attachments lack accuracy, as they often rely on vehicle operation time rather than actual attachment usage, leading to potential wear and damage that can cause machine downtime.
Innovation Solution
A system that monitors loader attachment usage on a work vehicle by imaging target devices, tracking movement, and generating maintenance alerts based on predetermined thresholds, using a vision system, processor, and display unit to provide timely maintenance notifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If maintenance is scheduled based on vehicle operation time using basic hour meters, then maintenance scheduling is simple, but the accuracy of maintenance timing is insufficient because it does not reflect actual attachment usage
Solution Approach 1:
A vision system acts as an intermediary between the attachment and the monitoring control apparatus. The vision system captures images of target devices on the attachment, and the control apparatus processes these images to determine usage time, thereby indirectly measuring attachment usage without direct sensors on the attachment itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical hour meter devices with an optical vision system and image processing control apparatus. Instead of mechanical counters that simply track vehicle ignition time, the system uses cameras to capture images and a processor to analyze target device positions, substituting mechanical measurement with optical and computational methods.
2Reliability
If maintenance is scheduled based on calendar time intervals, then scheduling is simple, but wear and damage may occur because it does not correlate with actual usage time
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring control apparatus continuously captures images of the attachment's target devices, processes the image data to determine current pose and movement, and accumulates usage time data. This feedback loop provides real-time information about actual attachment usage, enabling maintenance scheduling that responds to actual wear conditions rather than following a fixed calendar schedule.
3Adaptability or versatility
If electronics are placed directly on the attachment to detect usage information, then accurate attachment usage data can be obtained, but the attachment becomes vendor-specific and less adaptable
Solution Approach 1:
The vision system serves as an intermediary that observes the attachment from a distance without requiring electronic components to be mounted on the attachment itself. Target devices (passive markers) are placed on the attachment, and the vision system captures their positions to infer usage information, thereby maintaining attachment versatility while achieving accurate measurement.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of placing sensors directly on the attachment, the system creates optical copies (images) of the target devices on the attachment using a camera. These image copies are then processed to extract usage information, allowing the monitoring system to virtualize the measurement process and avoid physical modification of the attachment with electronic sensors.
Data Source
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AI summary
Apparatus and methods are provided for monitoring usage operation of equipment carried on a vehicle. A vision system generates target device data representative of an obtained image of a set of target devices carried on a loader. Loader monitoring logic is executed by a processor to determine a current loader movement of the loader from first to second loader poses based on the target device data. Maintenance alert data is generated based on a sum of a first time duration of the current loader movement and an aggregated time duration of previously determined loader movements of the loader exceeding a predetermined loader maintenance time threshold. A maintenance alert image is generated based on the maintenance alert data and is displayed on a screen viewable by an operator. The maintenance alert image includes maintenance notification information to alert the operator of required loader maintenance.