Method, arrangement and user interface for managing mobile forest machines and transport equipment therefor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11650602-B2
Application number	US-201716328452-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 29, 2017
Priority date	Aug 30, 2016
Publication date	May 16, 2023
Grant date	May 16, 2023

Abstract

A user interface for fleet management includes a first user interface zone and a second user interface zone, which are can be presented to the user simultaneously on the same first user interface. On the first user interface is presented, in response to a selection made by the user, simultaneously at least two parallel first selection elements, and from the selected at least one first selection element, at least one selectable first selection element related thereto and included in the next higher or lower hierarchical level. The second user interface zone is arranged to present information which is based on selections made by the user via the first user interface zone.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of fleet management for a fleet having at least two working machines, for use in forestry, the method comprising:
providing a first user interface for controlling the fleet comprising the at least two working machines,
presenting on the first user interface a first user interface zone and a second user interface zone such that the first user interface zone and the second user interface zone are presented for a user on the first user interface simultaneously;
arranging the first user interface zone to display a hierarchical, graphic menu having at least two mutually parallel first selection elements and at least two mutually hierarchical first selection elements, at least one of the first selection elements enabling establishing a remote communication link to a working machine and a terminal device in which the first user interface is provided;
taking control of the working machine using the remote communication link;
displaying on the first user interface, in response to a selection made by the user, simultaneously at least two parallel first selection elements, and at least one selectable first selection element related to at least one selection element selected by the user and belonging to a next higher or lower hierarchical level compared to the at least one selected selection element; and
arranging the second user interface zone to display information based on selections made by the user via the first user interface zone, the information including at least one second selection element for executing at least one function for fleet management, and wherein the function includes presenting at least one item of production data for the working machine to which the remote communication link is established.

2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the first selection elements include both a text portion and a graphical portion depicting the selection.

3. A method according to claim 2 , comprising:
arranging at least the text portion or the graphical portion of each of the first selection elements to present information which depicts an object represented by the respective first selection element, is related to an object represented by the respective first selection element, and has been received from said object or from an object linked thereto directly or indirectly.

4. A method according to claim 3 , wherein said information presented by each of the first selection elements includes computational information or measurement information depicting the object represented by the respective first selection element.

5. A method according to claim 1 , comprising:
determining an appearance of selected first selection elements to be different from that of the at least one selectable first selection elements.

6. A method according to claim 1 , comprising:
determining an appearance of at least one non-selectable first selection element to be different from that of a selected one and, on the other hand, from that of the at least one selectable first selection elements.

7. A method according to claim 1 , comprising:
arranging the user interface to update further information for the second user interface zone, which information is based on selections made by the user via the first user interface zone, in response to the user affecting a same first selection element again.

8. A method according to claim 1 , comprising:
updating at least one of the following is updated to comply with a fleet status as a workarea or work phase changes, in response to a message transmitted by at least one working machine included in the fleet: a selection element presented in the first user interface zone, a number of first selection elements presented in the first user interface zone, a text portion of the first selection element presented in the first user interface zone, or a graphical portion of the first selection element presented in the first user interface zone.

9. A method according to claim 1 , comprising:
linking at least some of the first selection elements to the working machines of at least one operator in workareas, to workareas, sections, cutting areas, and/or to drivers of the working machines.

10. A method according to claim 1 , wherein at least one selection element represents an object, said object includes at least one of the following: a forest machine, a forest machine transport machine/vehicle, a workarea, a section or a driver.

11. A method according to claim 1 , comprising:
performing for managing the fleet, at least one function in response to selections made by the user on the first user interface, said function including at least one of the following:
creating a remote connection to a working machine for reviewing machine information, creating a remote connection to a working machine or to a control system of the working machine, creating a remote connection to a working machine for establishing a voice or instant messaging link to the working machine, creating a remote connection to a working machine for providing navigation instructions for this particular working machine in a map application, establishing a voice link to a selected phone number, initiating a map application for enabling navigation to a working machine, presenting a route traveled by a working machine and/or a transport machine, determining or presenting at least one item of production data or consumption data for a working machine or at least one characteristic calculable therefrom, or presenting at least one past point in time for transportation and presenting at least one future point in time for transportation.

12. A computer program product, in storage on a computer readable medium and executable with a processor, said computer program product comprising:
a non-transitory computer readable program code, which is arranged to carry out a method as set forth in claim 1 as the program code is being executed with the processor.

13. A user interface for managing a fleet including at least two working machines for use in forestry, comprising:
a processor coupled to a memory and configured to execute computer readable program code to control a first user interface for controlling the fleet, and to generate:
a plurality of first selection elements which a user can select by affecting at least one of said first selection elements; and
a first user interface zone and a second user interface zone, said first user interface zone and second user interface zone being presented to a user simultaneously on a same first user interface, wherein
the first user interface zone being configured and arranged to present a hierarchical, graphic menu having at least two mutually parallel first selection elements and at least two mutually hierarchical first selection elements, at least one of the first selection elements enabling establishing a remote communication link to a working machine and a terminal device in which the first user interface is provided;
the first user interface zone being configured to display, in response to a selection made by a user, simultaneously at least two parallel first selection elements, and
at least one selectable first selection element related to at least one selection element selected by the user and belonging to a next higher or lower hierarchical level compared to the at least one selected selection element; and
the second user interface zone being configured and arranged to present information which is based on selections made by the user via the first user interface zone, the information comprising at least one second selection element for executing at least one function for fleet management, and wherein the function in

Assignees

• Ponsse Oyj

Inventors

• Hiljanen Jarmo
• Vilkman Hanna

Classifications

• G07C5/0825

  using optical means · CPC title

• G07C3/06

  in graphical form · CPC title

• A01G23/00 Primary

  Forestry · CPC title

• G06F3/0482

  Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus · CPC title

• G07C5/06

  in graphical form · CPC title