Shovel Display System for Operator Situational Awareness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shovel technologies struggle to effectively display the positional relation between the shovel and a person around it, making it difficult for operators to grasp the surrounding situation and ensuring safety.
Innovation Solution
A shovel system equipped with an object detection device, an angle detection device, a control device, and a display device that simultaneously displays first and second display information in a predetermined area. The first display information represents the shovel based on its swivel angle, while the second display information represents a person around the shovel, enhancing the operator's understanding of their surroundings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If only the shovel icon and travel direction are displayed, then the display is simple, but the positional relation between the shovel and surrounding persons cannot be grasped
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from displaying only the shovel icon in a single dimension to a two-dimensional display that includes both the shovel icon and person icons with relative positional relationships. This dimensional expansion allows the operator to perceive the spatial arrangement between the shovel and surrounding persons, resolving the information loss while maintaining reasonable display simplicity through structured icon placement.
2Loss of information
If the display shows detailed surrounding information, then situational awareness improves, but the display area becomes cluttered and difficult to interpret
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential information needed for safety - the positional relationship between the shovel and persons - and displays this as simplified icons rather than complete surrounding environment data. This extraction approach provides sufficient situational awareness for safe operation while avoiding information overload and display clutter.
Solution Approach 2:
The display applies different visual characteristics to different elements: the shovel is represented by a distinct icon with directional indication, while persons are represented by separate icons positioned to indicate their relative locations. This localized differentiation allows clear interpretation of spatial relationships without requiring detailed rendering of all surrounding objects.
Data Source
AI summary
A shovel includes a lower traveling body, an upper swivel body swiveling with respect to the lower traveling body, an object detection device to detect an object around the shovel, an angle detection device to detect a swivel angle of the upper swivel body with respect to the lower traveling body, a control device to acquire the swivel angle and positional information about a person around the shovel, and a display device simultaneously to display first display information and second display information in a predetermined display area in a manner that represents a positional relation between the shovel and the person, the first display information representing the shovel based on the swivel angle in such a manner that the angle between the upper swivel body and the lower traveling body can be recognized, and the second display information representing the person at a position indicated by the positional information.