Mower Fleet Region Assignment for Battery-Limited Lawn Coverage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Battery-powered mowers have limited charge capacity, requiring frequent battery replacements and increased labor costs when used on large areas, especially when multiple mowers and operators are needed to complete lawn mowing efficiently.
Innovation Solution
A mower fleet management device that includes on-board communication and navigation modules, a map loading module, a control terminal communication module, and a working region assigning module, allowing multiple mowers to work collaboratively by assigning and guiding them to optimal working regions based on battery charge, speed, and mowing width status information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If a plurality of batteries is used for replacement to achieve uninterrupted work on large lawn areas, then the working area coverage is improved, but the time required to complete lawn mowing increases due to frequent battery replacements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the large lawn area into multiple smaller working regions and assigns different mowers to different regions. This segmentation allows mowers to work simultaneously in parallel without needing frequent battery replacements, as each mower operates within a manageable area that can be completed on a single battery charge.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic working region assignment that adjusts mower assignments based on real-time battery status information. When a mower's battery charge amount changes, the system dynamically reassigns working regions to optimize workload distribution and minimize battery replacement frequency, thereby reducing overall completion time.
2Productivity
If a plurality of mowers is simultaneously used to reduce completion time, then the productivity is improved, but the labor costs increase due to the requirement of multiple operators
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements automated fleet management where the control terminal autonomously monitors battery status information of multiple mowers and dynamically assigns working regions without human intervention. The system automatically generates and updates working region assignments based on real-time data, eliminating the need for operators to manually coordinate multiple mowers and significantly reducing labor costs while maintaining high productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent establishes a feedback mechanism where the control terminal continuously receives battery status information from multiple mowers and uses this feedback to dynamically adjust working region assignments. This closed-loop control enables the system to automatically optimize mower deployment and coordinate operations without requiring human operators, thereby maintaining high productivity while minimizing labor requirements.
3Area of stationary object
If the battery charge amount is increased to extend working area coverage, then the working area is improved, but the device complexity and cost increase due to constraints of battery energy density and production costs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple standard-capacity batteries into a fleet of multiple mowers, each equipped with a manageable battery system. Instead of requiring each mower to have a large, complex high-capacity battery, the system merges the total battery capacity across multiple simpler units, achieving the same overall working area coverage while reducing individual device complexity and production costs.
Data Source
AI summary
The mower fleet management device is configured to control a plurality of mowers to work in collaboration. Each of the mowers includes an on-board communication module and an on-board positioning and navigation module. The mower fleet management device includes: a map loading module configured to acquire a map of a working land parcel; a control terminal communication module configured to wirelessly communicate with the on-board communication modules to acquire status information of the mowers; and a working region assigning module configured to assign a working region to each of the mowers according to the status information and the map. The on-board positioning and navigation module of each of the mowers guides the mower to work in the corresponding working region according to the assigned working region.