Mobile Vehicle Diagnostics for Locating Distributed Components
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Solution Overview
Problem
Agricultural vehicles face challenges in efficiently identifying and accessing distributed components for repair due to multiple potential sources of detected problems, which are often located far from the cab and not easily accessible, leading to inefficiencies in diagnostic processes.
Innovation Solution
Implementing processor circuitry on a mobile device communicatively coupled to the vehicle's control system, which uses machine learning models trained on historical data to provide diagnostic information and testing instructions, and displays interactive maps for component location guidance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If components are distributed across large areas of the machine, then the vehicle can perform multiple agricultural tasks simultaneously, but it becomes difficult for the operator to locate and access the components for inspection and repair
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a mobile computing device as an intermediary between the control system and the operator. This device receives diagnostic information from the control system, processes it to identify problematic components, and provides navigation guidance to their locations. The intermediary handles the complexity of locating distributed components, allowing the operator to easily access them regardless of their distribution across the vehicle.
2Reliability
If multiple components are monitored by the control system, then comprehensive diagnostic information can be obtained, but it becomes difficult to determine which specific component requires inspection when multiple potential sources of problems exist
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the diagnostic analysis function from the operator's task and assigns it to the mobile computing device. The device receives raw diagnostic data from multiple components, processes this data to identify which specific component is problematic, and presents only the relevant information to the operator. This extraction simplifies the operator's workload while maintaining comprehensive monitoring of all components.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback loop where the mobile computing device continuously receives diagnostic information from the control system, analyzes it to determine component status, and provides actionable guidance to the operator. This feedback mechanism automatically processes multiple component readings and highlights only those requiring attention, reducing the complexity of identifying problematic components among many monitored elements.
3Loss of information
If diagnostic information is displayed in the cab of the vehicle, then the operator can receive problem notifications, but additional instructions and guidance on how to access components located far from the cab are required
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile computing device performs preliminary actions by pre-processing diagnostic information to identify problematic components before the operator needs to access them. It prepares navigation guidance and step-by-step instructions in advance, so when the operator receives the notification, all necessary information for quick access and repair is already available. This preliminary processing eliminates the need for additional lookup or analysis time at the component location.
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture to obtain diagnostic information for a system are disclosed. An example apparatus includes vehicle interface circuitry to obtain information corresponding to a detected problem of a vehicle, cloud interface circuitry to obtain, via a network communication, an output of a machine learning model executed based on the information, the output to indicate (a) a component associated with the detected problem, and (b) a probability associated with the component, instruction generation circuitry to generate instructions for performing a test on the component, and user interface control circuitry to cause the instructions to be displayed on a mobile device.