Work Vehicle Route Entry Control for Front and Rear Path Selection

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing automatic travel systems for work vehicles can fail to enter the desired travel path if the nearest path is located behind the vehicle, as they only search for entry points in front of the vehicle, leading to incorrect path selection and inability to start work from the intended path.

Innovation Solution

The system sets candidate specification areas on both the front and rear sides of the work vehicle, allowing it to select and enter the nearest travel path in either direction, with the automatic travel control unit adjusting the vehicle's direction accordingly to smoothly enter the specified path.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If the search area is set only on the front side of the work vehicle, then the system can search for travel paths in the travel direction, but the work vehicle cannot enter a desired travel path that exists on the rear side

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepath entry capabilityVSAvoiduser convenience
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extends the search area from a one-dimensional front-side search to a two-dimensional search encompassing both front and rear sides of the work vehicle. This dimensional expansion allows the system to detect and enter travel paths located in any direction relative to the vehicle, not just in the forward travel direction.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Solution Approach 2:

The search area setting unit is designed to set candidate specification areas in multiple directions (front and rear sides) simultaneously, making the path entry function universal and adaptable to various operational scenarios regardless of the desired path's location relative to the vehicle.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Productivity

If the system selects the nearest travel path based on front-side search only, then the search process is simple, but the selected path may not be the desired path according to user demand

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvework start efficiencyVSAvoidpath selection accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by setting candidate specification areas in advance on both front and rear sides before the path selection process. This preliminary expansion of the search scope ensures that all potentially desired paths are included in the candidate set, allowing for accurate selection based on user demand rather than being limited to front-side paths only.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP3845990B1Automatic running system
Publication Date: 2025.01.01 YANMAR POWER TECH CO LTD
  • EP3845990B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3845990B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3845990B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

To enter a desired running route in scheduled running routes including a plurality of running routes, and start working from the desired running route. An automatic running system is provided with: a route generation unit for generating scheduled running routes including a plurality of running routes on which a working vehicle is caused to automatically run; an automatic running control unit capable of causing the working vehicle to automatically run along the scheduled running routes; an information acquisition unit for acquiring positional information and orientation information of the working vehicle; and a specifying unit for specifying, before automatic running is started by the working vehicle, an automatic running candidate route on which the working vehicle can start the automatic running. On the basis of the positional information and the orientation information of the working vehicle which are acquired by the information acquisition unit, the specifying unit sets a candidate specification area (Q2) ahead of the working vehicle and in the rear thereof, and specifies, out of the plurality of running routes, a running route (P1) included in the candidate specification area (Q2) as an automatic running candidate route (P4).