VEHICLE ASSEMBLY CONTROL SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COMPOSING OR DECOMPOSING A TASK

• US 20110257850A1
• Filed: 04/14/2010
• Published: 10/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Agjunction LLC (Kubota Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Agjunction LLC (Kubota Corporation)
• Inventors: Eizad, Zille, Reeve, David R., Ramm, Andreas F.
• Application Number:
  US12/760,363
• Publication Number:
  US 20110257850A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/50
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/04 Forecasting or optimisation specially adapted for administrative or management purposes, e.g. linear programming or "cutting stock problem" market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities G06Q30/0202
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/02 Agriculture; Fishing; Forestry; Mining

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for decomposing a task to be performed by at least one vehicle assembly. Initially, a higher-order information layer relating to the task and one or more rules for decomposing the higher-order information layer are provided. The method includes the step of decomposing, with a controller and at least partially, the higher-order information layer with the rules to form a lower-order information layer. The lower-order information layer relates to at least one subtask of the task. The present invention also relates to a method for composing the task.

Claims

1. A method for decomposing a task to be performed by at least one vehicle assembly, the method including the steps of:

providing a higher-order information layer relating to the task and one or more rules for decomposing the higher-order information layer; and

decomposing, with a controller and at least partially, the higher-order information layer with the rules to form a lower-order information layer, the lower-order information layer relating to at least one subtask of the task.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the information layers include spatial information relating to a space in which the vehicle assembly operates.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2, further including the step of displaying task information on a display of the vehicle assembly based upon the spatial information.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the displayed task information includes a map.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1, further including the step of the vehicle assembly performing the subtask in space in accordance with information in the lower-order layer.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the lower-order information layer includes a set of waypoints in the space with each waypoint associated with one or more attributes for performing the subtask.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rules include spatial rules relating to a space in which the vehicle assembly can perform the task.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the vehicle assembly is an agricultural vehicle assembly, the space is a field and the task is the spraying of the field.

9. A method as claimed in claim 1 which, prior to the step of providing, further includes the step of decomposing an even higher-order information layer with other rules to form the higher-order information layer.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the even higher-order information layer and other rules are stored in a database of the controller.

11. A method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the database is synchronized with databases of other vehicle assemblies.

12. A method as claimed in claim 1 which, prior to the step of providing a higher-order information layer, includes the step of:

composing, with a computational device, the higher-order information layer based upon input information relating to the task to be performed by the vehicle assembly.

13. A method as claimed in claim 12, further including the step of forming the rules using received input from a user, the composed higher-order information layer being based upon the received input.

14. A method as claimed in claim 13, further including the step of displaying verification information on a display of the computational device, the verification information relating to the higher-order information layer and the rules.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the verification information includes a map.

16. A method as claimed in claim 13, further including the step of storing the composed higher-order information and the rules in a database, the database synchronized with a database of the vehicle assembly.

17. A controller for decomposing a task to be performed by at least one vehicle assembly, the controller configured to:

decompose with rules and at least partially, a higher-order information layer relating to the task to form a lower-order information layer, the lower-order information layer relating to at least one subtask of the task.

18. A method for composing a task to be performed by at least one vehicle assembly, the method including the steps of:

composing, with a computational device, a higher order information layer relating to the task; and

forming one or more rules for at least partially decomposing the higher-order information to form a lower-order information layer, the lower-order information layer relating to at least one subtask of the task.

19. A method as claimed in claim 18, further including the step of displaying verification information on a display of the computational device, the verification information relating to the higher-order information layer and the rules.

20. A method as claimed in claim 19, wherein the verification information includes a map.

21. A method as claimed in claim 18, further including the step of storing the composed higher-order information and the rules in a database, the database synchronized with a database of the vehicle assembly.

22. A method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the composed higher order information layer and formed rules are based upon user-specified attributes.

23. A computational device for composing a task to be performed by at least one vehicle assembly, the computational device configured to:

compose a higher order information layer relating to the task; and

form one or more rules for at least partially decomposing the higher-order information to form a lower-order information layer, the lower-order information layer relating to at least one subtask of the task.