System for detecting the operating state of a machine

• US 10,318,609 B2
• Filed: 10/08/2013
• Issued: 06/11/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Deere & Company
• Original Assignee: Deere & Company
• Inventors: Blank, Sebastian, Beck, Folker, Kneip, Frank
• Primary Examiner(s): Louis, Andre Pierre
• Application Number:
  US14/048,235
• Publication Number:
  US 20140129192A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,072 Days
• Field of Search: 703 2
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 76/00 Parts, details or accessories of agricultural machines or implements, not provided for in groups A01B51/00 - A01B75/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/18 for evaluating statistical data , e.g. average values, frequency distributions, probability functions, regression analysis forecasting specially adapted for a specific administrative, business or logistic context G06Q10/04
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0825 using optical means
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers

Abstract

A system for deriving the operating state of a machine comprises one or more sensors for making available in each case an output value relating to a current parameter of a component of the machine, and a processing unit which is connected to the sensors and is programmed to derive information about the operating state of machine using a model and on the basis of the measured values of the sensors and/or values derived therefrom. The processing unit can be supplied with a state transition matrix, elements of an emission probability matrix for the probability that an observation is conditioned by a certain state, and a vector for describing an input state, in order to derive the operating states of the machine therefrom. The processing unit is programmed to derive elements of the emission probability matrix from the measured values of the sensors.

Claims

1. A system for deriving an operating state of a machine, the system comprising:

at least one sensor, wherein the at least one sensor is configured to generate an output value relating to a current parameter of a component of the machine;

a processing unit connected to the at least one sensor, wherein the processing unit is configured to derive information about the operating state of the machine based in part on at least one of;

a measured value of the at least one sensor or a value derived from the at least one sensor, and

wherein the processing unit is configured to derive elements of an emission probability matrix from the measured values of the at least one sensor-to determine a model to derive at least one operating state of the machine based on the derived elements of the emission probability matrix, a state transition matrix, and a vector for describing an input state supplied to the processing unit, wherein the elements of the emission probability matrix B are not extracted from a previously stored database but are evaluated on the basis of the current observations, said model being derived in real-time based on said generated output; and

a control device communicatively connected to the processing unit, wherein the control device actuates a component of the machine or an implement attached to the machine based at least in part on the derived operating state of the machine.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the elements of the emission probability matrix are derived from a plurality of fuzzified measured values of the at least one sensor.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the elements of the emission probability matrix are derived from measured values of a sensor state monitoring system for detecting a state of the at least one sensor or a state of a device for monitoring an operator.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the machine comprises an agricultural machine.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the implement comprises a soil-working implement.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the derived operating state of the machine is displayable on a display panel of the machine.

7. A system for deriving an operating state of a machine, comprising:

at least one sensor, wherein the at least one sensor is configured to generate an output value relating to a current parameter of a component of the machine;

a processing unit connected to the at least one sensor, wherein the processing unit is configured to derive elements of an emission probability matrix from the values of the at least one sensor, and wherein the processing unit determines a model for a respective operating mode of the machine based in part on measured values of at least one of;

the emission probability matrix, a position-determining system, wherein the elements of the emission probability matrix B are not extracted from a previously stored database but are evaluated on the basis of the current observations, said model being derived in real-time based on said generated output, and

at least one state transition matrix or a vector describing a respective input state, based at least in part on the determined model for the respective operating mode from a database in which different state transition matrices and vectors for different operating modes of the machine are stored to determine an operating state of the machine based on the model; and

a control device communicatively connected to the processing unit, wherein the control device actuates a component of the machine or an implement attached to the machine based at least in part on the derived operating state of the machine.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein elements of the at least one state transition matrix are determined during operation.

9. A system for deriving an operating state of a machine, comprising:

at least one sensor, wherein the at least one sensor is configured to generate an output value relating to a current parameter of a component of the machine;

a processing unit connected to the at least one sensor, wherein said processing unit is configured to derive information about the operating state of the machine based in part on at least one of;

a measured value of the at least one sensor or a value derived from the at least one sensor, and

wherein the processing unit is configured to derive elements of an emission probability matrix from the values of the at least one sensor, and

wherein the processing unit is configured to derive elements of an emission probability matrix from the values of the at least one sensor and to determine a model to derive at least one operating state of the machine based on the derived elements of the emission probability matrix, a first state transition matrix, and a first vector for describing an input state supplied to the processing unit, wherein the elements of the emission probability matrix B are not extracted from a previously stored database but are evaluated on the basis of the current observations, said model being derived in real-time based on said generated output, and wherein the processing unit is further configured to carry out a subsequent step of determining a model to derive an operating state of the machine based on at least one of;

a second transition matrix, a second vector, and a data quantity for differentiating one or more operating states;

or a change in the operating state; and

a control device communicatively connected to the processing unit, wherein the control device actuates a component of the machine or an implement attached to the machine based at least in part on the derived operating state of the machine.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein a time for deriving an operating state of the machine is determined as a function of a plurality of diagonal elements of the state transition matrix.

11. The system according to claim 9, wherein the second state transition matrix and the second vector is different than the first state transition matrix and the first vector.