Work Spotlight Control Profiles for Glare-Free Machine Visibility

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Solution Overview

Problem

Agricultural work machines often face issues with glare and impaired visibility due to strong illumination from work lights, which can be exacerbated by reflections from surfaces of functional machines, leading to reduced visibility for operators and potential safety hazards.

Innovation Solution

A system for controlling work lights that allows users to store and retrieve user-specific and functional machine-specific lighting profiles, enabling the control means to adjust light emission to prevent glare and reflections, maintaining visibility while allowing for efficient illumination of work areas.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-affected harmful factors

If the work light is dimmed to reduce glare, then the glare and visibility impairment for the user is reduced, but the illumination intensity of the work area is significantly reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveglare and visibility impairmentVSAvoidillumination intensity of work area
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSIllumination intensity

Solution Approach 1:

The light emission surface is divided into multiple segments that can be independently controlled. The control means can selectively switch off specific segments that cause glare to the user while maintaining illumination from other segments, thus reducing glare without significantly compromising overall work area illumination.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different segments of the light emission surface are treated differently - some segments are switched off to prevent glare in specific directions, while other segments remain active to provide necessary illumination. This local differentiation allows simultaneous achievement of glare reduction and adequate illumination.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Illumination intensity

If strong illumination is used to illuminate the work area, then the visibility of objects in the work area is improved, but glare and light reflection off surfaces causes the user to be blinded

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevisibility of objects in work areaVSAvoidglare and light reflection
Core Design Contradiction:
Illumination intensityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The light emission surface is segmented into multiple independently controllable sections. The control means can selectively activate or deactivate specific segments based on which directions require illumination versus which directions would cause glare to the user, enabling strong illumination where needed without creating harmful reflections.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically changes the operational parameters of the light sources by selectively switching individual segments on or off. This parameter adjustment allows the illumination pattern to be optimized for each operational condition, providing strong light where needed while avoiding glare-prone directions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Illumination intensity

If multiple machines use strong work lights simultaneously, then each machine's work area is well illuminated, but other machines' users experience blinded or impaired visibility

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveillumination of each machine's work areaVSAvoidimpairment of visibility for other users
Core Design Contradiction:
Illumination intensityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

By segmenting the light emission surface into independently controllable sections, each machine can illuminate its own work area effectively while selectively suppressing light emission in directions where other machines are located, thus avoiding interference with other users' visibility.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The control means receives information about the positions and orientations of other machines in the vicinity and uses this feedback to dynamically adjust which segments are active, ensuring that illumination is provided where needed while avoiding glare to other operators.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP3804487B1System for controlling a work spotlight of an, in particular agricultural, working machine
Publication Date: 2024.03.06 ASPOCK SYST
  • EP3804487B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3804487B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3804487B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

A system (1) for controlling a work light (5) of a work machine, in particular an agricultural machine, is provided, wherein the system comprises: - a work machine (2) with at least one work light (5) intended for illuminating a work area (16) to be monitored by a user of the work machine (2); - a functional machine (3), in particular an agricultural machine, to be coupled to the work machine (2); - control means (11) for controlling the operation of the work light (5); - a data storage device (9) configured for storing a lighting profile, wherein the lighting profile comprises data and/or instructions intended for transmission to the control means (11), and the control means (11) control the at least one work light (5) to illuminate the work area (16) in accordance with the lighting profile.