Work Vehicle Travel Control With Worker Confirmation Zones

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Solution Overview

Problem

In non-work areas, the risk of obstacles increases for automatically traveling work vehicles, making unconditioned automatic travel unsafe, while prohibiting automatic travel and allowing only manual operation decreases work efficiency.

Innovation Solution

A traveling control method that allows automatic travel in work areas under certain conditions and requires a worker's confirmation operation or action for automatic travel in non-work areas, ensuring safety by permitting automatic travel only when the worker is monitoring or confirming the vehicle's surroundings.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If automatic traveling is permitted in non-work areas without conditions, then work efficiency is improved, but safety deteriorates due to increased obstacle contact risk

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvework efficiencyVSAvoidsafety
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system changes the control parameter from unconditional automatic traveling to conditional automatic traveling, where the condition is worker confirmation. This allows the system to adapt between full automation (high productivity) and manual control (high safety) based on the work area type, resolving the contradiction between work efficiency and safety in non-work areas

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Reliability

If automatic traveling is prohibited in non-work areas and only manual traveling is permitted, then safety is improved, but work efficiency deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovesafetyVSAvoidwork efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adjusts the level of automation based on the work area context. In non-work areas, automatic traveling is enabled conditionally rather than being completely prohibited, allowing the system to maintain safety through worker confirmation while preserving productivity benefits when conditions are appropriate

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

3Productivity

If automatic traveling is permitted in work areas without confirmation, then work efficiency is improved, but safety monitoring deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvework efficiencyVSAvoidsafety monitoring
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies different quality of control to different locations: in work areas, automatic traveling is permitted without confirmation (high automation), while in non-work areas, worker confirmation is required (lower automation). This localized differentiation resolves the contradiction by adapting the level of safety monitoring to the specific risk context of each area

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP4488787A1Traveling control method, traveling control program, and traveling control system
Publication Date: 2025.01.08 YANMAR HLDG CO LTD
  • EP4488787A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4488787A1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4488787A1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

[Problem] There is provided a traveling control method, a traveling control program, and a traveling control system that can ensure safety when a work vehicle automatically travels in a non-work area. [Solution] An automatic traveling system 1 causes a work vehicle 10 to automatically travel in a work area in a case where the work vehicle 10 satisfies a traveling start condition, and causes the work vehicle 10 to automatically travel in a non-work area in a case where predetermined confirmation operation or confirmation action by a worker is performed.