Working Device Lift Control for Auto-to-Manual Field Resumption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing agricultural machines face inefficiencies when transitioning between automatic and manual operations, leading to reduced work efficiency and soil marking issues during agricultural jobs.
Innovation Solution
An agricultural assistance system that allows seamless transition between automatic and manual operations by controlling the lifting device to adjust the working device's position, ensuring continuous agricultural job performance without soil marking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the lifting device moves the working device to a retracted position after automatic operation, then the working device is protected from collision, but the agricultural machine cannot immediately resume work when manually operated
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting device dynamically adjusts the working device position based on operational mode. During automatic operation, the working device is maintained in a lowered work position rather than being retracted, enabling immediate resumption of work when transitioning to manual operation while still allowing collision avoidance through controlled positioning
Solution Approach 2:
The working device is kept in the work position in advance during automatic operation, so that when manual operation begins, no additional positioning action is needed and work can resume immediately without the delay of moving from retracted to work position
2Reliability
If the working device is separated from the soil and then contacts the soil, then collision is avoided, but a mark is left on the soil reducing job quality
Solution Approach 1:
The working device maintains continuous contact with the soil through dynamic position control during mode transitions, avoiding the separation-and-recontact cycle that creates marks. The lifting device makes fine adjustments to keep the working device at the optimal work depth without complete separation from the soil surface
3Adaptability or versatility
If the agricultural machine travels manually to resume work after automatic operation, then the working device can be repositioned, but the number of manual operation steps increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting device control is merged with the operational mode control system. When transitioning from automatic to manual operation, the lifting device automatically adjusts the working device position to the work position as part of the mode transition, combining positioning and operational mode changes into a single integrated action rather than separate manual steps
Data Source
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AI summary
An agricultural machine (1) includes a traveling vehicle body (3) to travel, a positioning device (40) to detect a position of the traveling vehicle body (3), a lifting device (8) to link a working device (2) to the traveling vehicle body (3) and to raise and lower the working device (2), and an automatic operation controller (61) to perform automatic operation in which the automatic operation controller (61) causes the traveling vehicle body (3) to travel and causes the working device (2) to perform an agricultural job on an agricultural field based on a prepared travel route (LI) and the position of the traveling vehicle body (3) detected by the positioning device (40), wherein the lifting device (8) is operable to, during the automatic operation, place the working device (2) in a heightwise work position (PI, P3, P5) in which the working device (2) performs the agricultural job, and the automatic operation controller (61) is configured or programmed to cause the lifting device (8) to keep the working device (2) in the work position (PI, P3, P5) even after stopping the traveling vehicle body (3) and/or the working device (2) to end the automatic operation at a location short of an unworked area (J1) of the agricultural field.