Combine harvester control interface for operator and/or remote user

• US 10,437,243 B2
• Filed: 06/19/2017
• Issued: 10/08/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Deere & Company
• Original Assignee: Deere & Company
• Inventors: Blank, Sebastian, Donini, Mario L., Pfeiffer, Dohn W., Hoffman, Joshua D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chowdhury, Rayeez R
• Application Number:
  US15/626,967
• Publication Number:
  US 20180364698A1
• Time in Patent Office: 841 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A01D 41/127 Control or measuring arrangements specially adapted for combines
• CPC Class Codes: A01D 41/1278 for automatic steering
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0016 characterised by the operator's input device input arrangements for computing systems in general G06F3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/206 Drawing of charts or graphs
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/24 involving graphical user interfaces [GUIs]

Abstract

A user device, that is remote from a combine harvester, communicates with a remote system to receive performance metrics corresponding to sensed operation of a plurality of different combine harvesters. A performance display element, for each machine, and for each of a plurality of different performance criteria, is generated. Display control logic controls a display device so the performance display elements are displayed with display elements corresponding to a same performance criteria, but for different combine harvesters, being displayed adjacent one another, on the display device. The display control logic also controls the display device so the performance machine display elements for the plurality of different combine harvesters are also displayed along with a performance distribution display element that represents a performance distribution of a plurality of different machines.

Claims

1. A computing system, comprising:

a machine control interface that includes a machine selection actuator that is actuatable to select a set of remote agricultural harvesting machines;

a communication system configured to obtain a set of machine performance metrics indicative of performance of the set of remote harvesting machines, machine benchmark values from a remote analytics computing system indicative of benchmark values corresponding to each machine performance metric, and a performance distribution indicative of a distribution of performance across the set of machine performance metrics;

one or more processor(s), one of the one or more processor(s) configured to generate a separate graphical performance metric display element corresponding to each machine performance metric in the set of machine performance metrics, for each agricultural harvesting machine, in the set of remote agricultural harvesting machines, one of the one or more processor(s) being configured to generate a graphical distribution display element indicative of the performance distribution, and graphical benchmark display elements corresponding to the machine benchmark values;

wherein one of the one or more processor(s) is configured to generate the graphical distribution display element as a divided bell curve shaped display element, which is visually divided into sections;

a display device;

display generator logic, implemented by one of the one or more processor(s), configured to control the display device to display, on the machine control interface, a performance metric display section corresponding to each of the machine performance metrics, each performance metric display section displaying;

the graphical performance metric display elements for the machine performance metric corresponding to the performance metric display section, for each agricultural harvesting machine in the set of agricultural harvesting machines, adjacent one another;

the graphical benchmark display element corresponding to the machine benchmark value for the performance metric corresponding to the performance metric display section;

the display generator logic further controlling the display device to extend a portion of the graphical distribution display element across the graphical performance metric display elements in the performance metric display sections visible on the display device;

wherein the display generator logic is configured to detect a user scroll gesture on the performance metric display section and to control the display device to scroll the display of the performance metric display sections; and

wherein the display generator logic is configured to display the divided bell curve shaped display element along one side of the performance metric display section, in a fixed position on the display device as the performance metric display sections being displayed on the display device are scrolled.

2. The computing system of claim 1 wherein one of the one or more processor(s) is configured to generate, as the graphical performance metric display elements, a bar graph for each machine performance metric and for each machine in the set of remote agricultural harvesting machines.

3. The computing system of claim 2 wherein the display generator logic is configured to control the display device to display, in each performance metric display section, the bar graphs, for the corresponding machine performance metric and for each machine in the set of remote agricultural harvesting machines, adjacent one another.

4. The computing system of claim 3 wherein the display generator logic is configured to control the display device to display the graphical benchmark display element, corresponding to each machine performance metric, as a line segment across a portion of the bar graph for the corresponding machine performance metric.

5. The computing system of claim 3 wherein one of the one or more processor(s) is configured to generate a separate numeric performance metric display element corresponding to each machine performance metric in the set of machine performance metrics, for each machine in the set of remote agricultural harvesting machines.

6. The computing system of claim 5 wherein the display generator logic is configured to control the display device to display, in each performance metric display section, the numeric performance metric display element, for the corresponding machine performance metric and for each machine in the set of remote agricultural harvesting machines.

7. The computing system of claim 3 wherein one of the one or more processor(s) is configured to generate a group graphical benchmark display element corresponding to each machine performance metric and indicative of a benchmark value for the corresponding machine performance metric obtained based on information from a group of remote agricultural harvesting machines.

8. A computer implemented method, comprising:

generating a machine control interface that includes a machine selection actuator that is actuatable to select a set of remote agricultural harvesting machines;

detecting actuation of the machine selection actuator to identify a set of remote agricultural harvesting machines;

controlling a communication system to obtain a set of machine performance metrics indicative of performance of the set of remote agricultural harvesting machines, machine benchmark values from a remote analytics computing system indicative of benchmark values corresponding to each machine performance metric, and a performance distribution indicative of a distribution of performance across the machine performance metrics;

generating a separate graphical performance metric display element corresponding to each machine performance metric in the set of machine performance metrics, for each agricultural harvesting machine, in the selected set of remote agricultural harvesting machines;

generating a graphical distribution display element indicative of the performance distribution;

generating graphical benchmark display elements corresponding to the machine benchmark values;

controlling a display device to display, on the machine control interface, a performance metric display section corresponding to each of the machine performance metrics, each performance metric display section displaying;

the graphical performance metric display elements for the machine performance metric corresponding to the performance metric display section, for each agricultural harvesting machine in the set of agricultural harvesting machines, adjacent one another; and

the graphical benchmark display element corresponding to the machine benchmark value for the performance metric corresponding to the performance metric display section;

controlling the display device to extend a portion of the graphical distribution display element across the graphical performance metric display elements in the performance metric display sections visible on the display device;

detecting a user scroll gesture on a performance metric display section; and

controlling the display device to scroll the display of the performance metric display sections; and

wherein generating the graphical distribution display element comprises;

generating the graphical distribution display element as a divided bell curve shaped display element, which is visually divided into sections, wherein controlling the display device to display the graphical distribution display element comprises displaying the divided bell curve shaped display element along one side of the performance metric display section, in a fixed position on the display device as the performance metric display sections being displayed on the display device are scrolled.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 8 wherein generating a separate graphical performance metric display element corresponding to each machine performance metric comprises:

generating, as the graphical performance metric display elements, a bar graph for each machine performance metric and for each machine in the set of remote agricultural harvesting machines.

10. The computer implemented method of claim 9 wherein controlling the display device to display a performance metric display section corresponding to each of the machine performance metrics comprises:

controlling the display device to display, in each performance metric display section, the bar graphs, for the corresponding machine performance metric and for each machine in the set of remote agricultural harvesting machines, adjacent one another.

11. The computer implemented method of claim 10 wherein controlling the display device to display the graphical benchmark display element comprises:

controlling the display device to display the graphical benchmark display element, corresponding to each machine performance metric, as a line segment across a portion of the bar graph for the corresponding machine performance metric.

12. The computer implemented method of claim 10 and further comprising:

generating a separate numeric performance metric display element corresponding to each machine performance metric in the set of machine performance metrics, for each machine in the set of remote agricultural harvesting machines and wherein controlling the display device to display a performance metric display section corresponding to each of the machine performance metrics comprises controlling the display device to display, in each performance metric display section, the numeric performance metric display element, for the corresponding machine performance metric and for each machine in the set of remote agricultural harvesting machines.

13. The computer implemented method of claim 10 and further comprising:

generating a group graphical benchmark display element corresponding to each machine performance metric and indicative of a group benchmark value for the corresponding machine performance metric obtained based on information from a group of remote agricultural harvesting machines, and wherein controlling the display device to display a performance metric display section corresponding to each of the machine performance metrics comprises controlling the display device to display the group graphical benchmark display element, corresponding to each machine performance metric, as a line segment across a portion of the bar graph for the corresponding machine performance metric.