Work Vehicle Route Control for Multi-Part Field Coverage

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing work vehicles equipped with multiple working parts struggle to accurately perform work across the entire target agricultural field, often leaving parts of the field unworked due to the design and operation of the working devices.

Innovation Solution

A work vehicle system that includes a work assistance apparatus capable of setting precise work start and end positions for a working device with multiple parts, allowing the vehicle to travel along a planned route while ensuring all parts of the field are worked efficiently.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If a working device with multiple working parts is used to perform work while the vehicle travels, then work efficiency is improved, but work coverage accuracy deteriorates causing some parts of the field to be missed

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvework efficiencyVSAvoidwork coverage accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system pre-calculates and determines the optimal work start and end positions for each working part before the vehicle begins traveling. This preliminary positioning ensures that when the vehicle moves along the planned route, all working parts will cover their designated areas without missing any sections, thus resolving the contradiction between maintaining high productivity and ensuring complete work coverage accuracy

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The working device is divided into multiple independent working parts, each with its own controlled work start and end positions. This segmentation allows each working part to be precisely positioned and controlled independently, ensuring that even when traveling at high speed, each part maintains accurate work coverage without interfering with others, thereby maintaining both productivity and precision

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP4026415B1Work vehicle and work assistance apparatus for work vehicle
Publication Date: 2025.06.04 KUBOTA CORP
  • EP4026415B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4026415B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4026415B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A work vehicle (1) is enabled to accurately perform work at an intended location even when the work vehicle (1) performs the work using a working device (2) including a plurality of working parts (101) while traveling. The work vehicle (1) includes: a traveling vehicle body (3); a coupling device capable of coupling the working device (2) including the plurality of working parts (101) to the traveling vehicle body (3); an automatic operation control unit (63) configured to automatically operate the traveling vehicle body (3) on the basis of a planned traveling route (L1); and a work setting unit (51H) configured to set a work start position (STn) and a work end position (ETn) for the working device (2) at different positions on the basis of the plurality of working parts (101).