Spray Vehicle Path Control With Switchable Multi-Row Spray Patterns
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automated driving systems for spraying work vehicles struggle to efficiently spray chemicals or water on multiple rows of trees and crops while maintaining efficient automated driving, as they require straddling each row, leading to inefficiencies in work coverage and increased driving distance.
Innovation Solution
An automated driving system that includes a target path generation part to create optimized paths for spraying work, an automated driving control part for precise vehicle navigation, and a spray control part that switches between four-direction and direction-limited spraying patterns for the left and right liquid spray parts, allowing for efficient coverage of spray targets with reduced wasteful spraying.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the work vehicle performs automated driving while straddling each spray target row to spray chemicals on all spray target objects, then complete spraying coverage is achieved, but work efficiency is reduced due to increased driving distance and time
Solution Approach 1:
The spray target area is segmented into multiple rows, and the spraying operation is divided into two distinct patterns: four-direction spraying for complete coverage and direction-limited spraying for efficient coverage. The system segments the work area and selects appropriate spraying patterns based on the number of rows, thereby resolving the contradiction between complete coverage and work efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The spraying pattern is made dynamic and adaptable based on the number of spray target rows. The control part automatically switches between four-direction spraying pattern (for 3 or fewer rows) and direction-limited spraying pattern (for more than 3 rows). This dynamic adjustment allows the system to optimize work efficiency while maintaining adequate spraying coverage according to the specific work conditions.
2Reliability
If the work vehicle uses four-direction spraying pattern for all rows, then complete spraying coverage is achieved, but the number of spraying paths increases leading to longer driving distance
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the spraying pattern parameter based on the number of spray target rows. When the number of rows exceeds three, the system switches from four-direction spraying pattern to direction-limited spraying pattern, thereby reducing the number of spraying paths and driving distance while maintaining adequate spraying coverage for the specific configuration.
3Reliability
If the work vehicle straddles each spray target row, then all spray target objects are covered, but fuel consumption increases due to longer driving distance
Solution Approach 1:
The control part changes the spraying pattern parameter based on the number of spray target rows to optimize fuel consumption. For work sites with more than three rows, the system adopts direction-limited spraying pattern instead of four-direction spraying, reducing the driving distance and fuel consumption while maintaining adequate spraying coverage.
Data Source
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AI summary
This automated travel system for spraying work has a target path generation unit for generating a target path (P) for a spraying work. A work vehicle (V) is provided with left and right liquid spraying units (4L, 4R) which have spraying patterns including: a four-direction spraying pattern in which each of the left and right liquid spraying units (4L, 4R) sprays a liquid to both the left and right directions; and a direction-restricted spraying pattern in which the number of spraying directions of the left and right liquid spraying units (4L, 4R) is restricted to 3 or less. The target path generation unit generates the target path P in a path setting to incorporate a four-direction spraying path (Pw1) for which the four-direction spraying pattern is set as a spraying pattern and direction-restricted spraying paths (Pw2 to Pw4) for which the direction-restricted spraying pattern is set as a spraying pattern.