Outdoor Power Equipment Calibration for Consistent Quality of Cut

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Solution Overview

Problem

Power equipment used for outdoor maintenance, such as lawn mowers, faces challenges in achieving consistent high-quality turf maintenance due to complex operating capabilities and variations in environmental conditions, requiring significant experience and time to adjust settings effectively.

Innovation Solution

A mobile device application that interfaces with power equipment control devices to generate improved setting values based on current environmental conditions and turf characteristics, allowing for automatic or manual adjustments to optimize the quality of cut, using a processor and memory system to determine mechanical parameter values and output adjustment data.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If power equipment settings are manually adjusted by operators, then the quality of cut can be improved, but the time and expertise required for adjustment increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvequality of cutVSAvoidtime for adjustment
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The power equipment automatically adjusts its own settings by receiving environmental data from sensors, processing this data through a controller to determine optimal settings, and then automatically implementing these settings without requiring manual operator intervention. This self-service capability resolves the contradiction by enabling high-quality cut adjustment while eliminating the time and expertise burden on operators.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system continuously receives feedback from environmental sensors monitoring conditions such as turf moisture, temperature, and humidity. This feedback loop enables the controller to dynamically adjust power equipment settings in real-time to maintain optimal quality of cut despite changing environmental conditions, resolving the contradiction between achieving precision and the time required for manual adjustment.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Manufacturing precision

If power equipment settings are manually adjusted by operators, then the quality of cut can be improved, but the complexity of operation increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvequality of cutVSAvoidease of adjustment
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The power equipment performs self-adjustment by automatically receiving environmental data, processing it through the controller to determine optimal settings, and implementing these settings without operator intervention. This eliminates the operational complexity while maintaining high quality of cut, as the system handles all adjustment decisions autonomously based on real-time environmental feedback.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system replaces manual mechanical adjustment operations with an automated electronic control system that receives sensor data, processes it through a controller, and automatically adjusts mechanical parameters. This substitution of manual mechanical operations with automated electronic control resolves the contradiction by maintaining precision while dramatically improving ease of operation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Manufacturing precision

If power equipment is designed with complex operating capabilities, then high quality turf maintenance can be achieved, but the difficulty of operation increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvequality of turf maintenanceVSAvoiddifficulty of operation
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The power equipment autonomously manages its complex operating capabilities by automatically receiving environmental sensor data, processing this data through the controller to determine optimal settings for multiple parameters, and self-adjusting without operator intervention. This self-service approach allows the equipment to leverage its complex capabilities for high-quality turf maintenance while eliminating the operational difficulty that would otherwise require significant operator experience.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses continuous feedback from environmental sensors to dynamically adjust multiple operating parameters automatically. This feedback mechanism enables the complex power equipment to adapt to changing conditions and maintain high-quality turf maintenance outcomes without requiring operators to understand or manually adjust the complex interrelationships between various operating parameters.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

4Manufacturing precision

If power equipment settings are optimized for different environmental conditions, then the quality of cut is improved, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvequality of cutVSAvoidcomplexity of control system
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system employs environmental sensors to continuously monitor conditions such as turf moisture, temperature, and humidity, feeding this data back to the controller which automatically determines optimal settings. This feedback-based approach enables the equipment to adapt to different environmental conditions and maintain high quality of cut without requiring pre-programmed complex adjustment mechanisms for every possible condition, thereby improving precision while managing control system complexity through adaptive rather than predetermined solutions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system optimizes power equipment performance by dynamically changing operating parameters based on real-time environmental sensor data. The controller processes environmental conditions and automatically adjusts parameters such as cutting height, speed, and other mechanical settings. This parameter change approach enables adaptation to different environmental conditions for improved quality of cut while avoiding the need for complex mechanical reconfiguration mechanisms, thereby managing device complexity through software-based parameter adjustment rather than hardware complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentUS11950527B2Device and method for calibrating outdoor power equipment and quality of cut
Publication Date: 2024.04.09 MTD PRODUCTS INC
  • US11950527B2 patent drawing
  • US11950527B2 patent drawing
  • US11950527B2 patent drawing

AI summary

Calibrating and optimizing settings of power equipment devices are detailed throughout this disclosure. A mobile device application can be connected with a control device of a power equipment, and data pertaining to current environmental conditions (e.g., turf moisture), turf characteristics (e.g., type of grass, etc.) or machine parameters can be entered into the mobile device application and utilized for generating improved setting value(s). Also disclosed are algorithms for correlating these conditions, characteristics and parameters with adjustment data for adjusting machine settings to achieve a desired performance of a power equipment device.