DEVICE AND METHOD FOR COORDINATING A MACHINE FLEET

• US 20080098035A1
• Filed: 09/21/2007
• Published: 04/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Claas Selbstfahrende Erntemaschinen GmbH (CLAAS KGaA mbH)
• Original Assignee: Claas Selbstfahrende Erntemaschinen GmbH (CLAAS KGaA mbH)
• Inventors: Wippersteg, Heinz-Hermann, Steckel, Thilo, Diekhans, Norbert, Fitzner, Werner, Oetzel, Kai
• Granted Patent: US 7,873,617 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 79/005 Precision agriculture
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/944 Business related
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/951 Calendar or scheduling

Abstract

A device for coordinating a machine fleet includes a memory for storing a large number of data records, an interface for communicating with several users who are capable of making changes to the data records, in the case of which each data record represents a given portion of the working capacity of a machine in the machine fleet, and the changes relate to the assignment of the portion of the working capacity represented by the data record to the users making the change, and an administration unit designed to allow a change to be made to a data record by a user requesting the change if the data record is not assigned to any other user and an urgency of the change indicated by the requesting user reaches a threshold specified for the particular portion.

Claims

1. A device for coordinating a machine fleet, comprising a memory for storing a large number of data records;

an interface for communicating with several users;

an administration unit for making changes to the data records in reaction to users'"'"' requests, said memory being configured so that each data record represents a given portion of a working capacity of the machine in the machine fleet, said administration unit being configured so that the changes relate to an assignment of a portion of the working capacity represented by the data records to users making the change, said administration unit being also configured to implement a change to a data record when so requested by a user if the data record is not assigned to any other user, and an urgency of the change indicated by the user which provides a request reaches a threshold specified for the particular portion.

2. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein said administration unit is configured so that a specification for determining a distance between two data records is programmed in said administration unit, said administration unit being configured also so as to define the threshold based on a frequency of assigned data records within data records located close to a data record to be changed.

3. A device as defined in claim 2, wherein said memory is configured so that each of the data records corresponds to an operating period for one machine in the machine fleet, and the distance is a measure of a time interval between two data records.

4. A device as defined in claim 3, wherein said administration unit is configured so as to ascertain a frequency of assigned data records within data records located close to a given data record at predefined time intervals from a time corresponding to the data record.

5. A device as defined in claim 3, wherein said administration unit is configured to ascertain a frequency of assigned data records within data records located close to a given data record every time there is a request for a given data record.

6. A device as defined in claim 3, wherein said administration unit is configured so that the threshold is a decreasing function of a time interval between a present and a time corresponding to the data record.

7. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein the machine fleet includes several machines that are suitable for a same task, said memory being configured so that a distance between two data records assigned to the two machines suitable for the same task is independent of an identity of the machines.

9. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein said administration unit is configured to cancel—

upon a request of a user—

an assignment of a data record to this user, and to assign a new data record to this user if an urgency specified for a re-assignment is at least as great as a difference between the threshold for the new data record and the threshold for the originally assigned data record.

10. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein the machines in the machine fleet are mobile agricultural machines.

8. A device for coordinating a fleet of mobile agricultural machines, comprising a memory for storing a large number of data records;

an interface for communicating with several users; and

an administration unit for changing the data records in reaction to requests from the users, said memory being configured so that each data record represents a given portion of a working capacity of a machine in the machine fleet and a threshold is assigned to each data record, said administration unit being configured so that the changes relate to an assignment of a portion of a working capacity represented by the data record to the users making the change, and also said administration unit being configured to cancel—

upon a request of a user—

an assignment of a data record to a user, and to assign a new data record to him if the threshold for the new data record is lower than the threshold for the originally assigned data record.

11. A method of coordinating a machine fleet, comprising the steps of providing a large number of data records in a memory with each data record representing a given portion of a working capacity of a machine in the machine fleet;

receiving a request from a user to change a data record with the change related to an assignment of the portion of the working capacity represented by the data record to a user making the change;

implementing the requested change if the data record is not assigned to any other user and an urgency of the change indicated by the user providing the request reaches a threshold specified for the particular portion.

12. A method as defined in claim 11, further comprising ascertaining a frequency of assigned data records within data records located near the data record;

and defining the threshold based on the frequency.

13. A method as defined in claim 12, further comprising forming each data record so that it corresponds to an operating period of a machine and the machine fleet;

and based on a time interval between the data record to be changed and another data record, making a decision whether the other data record is located close to the data record to be changed.

14. A method as defined in claim 13, further comprising ascertaining a frequency of assigned data records within data records located close to a given data record at specified points in time;

and, if there is a request to change a given data record, defining the threshold based on a frequency that was determined most recently.

15. A method as defined in claim 13, further comprising, if there is a request to change a given data record, ascertaining a frequency of assigned data records within data records located close to the given data;

and defining then the threshold based on the frequency that was determined.

16. A method as defined in claim 13, further comprising defining the threshold as a decreasing function of a time interval between a present and a time corresponding to the data record.

17. A method as defined in claim 11;

and further comprising evaluating as to whether two data records assigned to two machine are suitable for a same task, one of which is located close to the other, independently of an identity of the machines.

19. A method as defined in claim 11, further comprising, upon request of a user, canceling an assignment of a data record to this user;

assigning a new data record to this user if an urgency specified for a re-assignment is at least as great as a difference between a threshold for the new data record and a threshold for an originally assigned data record.

20. A method as defined in claim 11, wherein the machines in the machine fleet are mobile agricultural machines.

18. A method of coordinating a fleet of mobile agricultural machines, comprising the steps of providing a large number of data records in a memory with each data record representing a given portion of a working capacity of a machine in the machine fleet;

receiving a request from a user;

canceling an assignment of a data record to this user and assigning to him a new data record;

implementing a requested change if a new data record is not assigned to any other users and if a specified threshold for the new data record is lower than the threshold for an originally assigned data record.