Nichol C I, Sommer H J, Murphy D J
Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.
J Agric Saf Health. 2005 Feb;11(1):99-108. doi: 10.13031/2013.17900.
Agricultural tractors are the most common source of farm work fatalities in the U.S., with overturns the most common type of incident. For the year 2001, there were 15 tractor-related fatalities in Pennsylvania, 9 of which were due to tractor rollover. A new device using low-cost sensors and microcomputers was developed around a simplified mathematical model of an agricultural tractor to inform the operator of potential tractor instability. This device communicates the current rollover potential, along with a recent history of rollover potential, to the operator of the tractor via a simple bar-graph display. The device uses a single-chip accelerometer to sense the current rollover potential and a small microprocessor to analyze the accelerometer data, compensate for variations due to temperature, and then send this information to a visual display. The use of these low-cost "off the shelf" components enabled the fabrication of a very inexpensive sensor system. Because agricultural tractors have a long service life, it was important to make the device low cost and flexible. This could enable it to be sold as an aftermarket add-on for a variety of tractor models. The device is also capable of interfacing with newer on-board tractor systems via a CAN bus to make it more attractive to tractor manufacturers who may want to incorporate this device into new models. Work is continuing on the development of an improved display to inform the tractor operator of possible instability, including display ergonomic studies, investigation of threshold levels for alerting an operator of potential instability, and investigation into audible warning signals.
在美国，农用拖拉机是农场作业 fatalities 的最常见来源，翻车是最常见的事故类型。2001 年，宾夕法尼亚州有 15 起与拖拉机相关的 fatalities，其中 9 起是由于拖拉机翻车。围绕农用拖拉机的简化数学模型开发了一种使用低成本传感器和微型计算机的新设备，以告知操作员拖拉机可能存在的不稳定情况。该设备通过简单的条形图显示，将当前的翻车可能性以及近期的翻车可能性历史信息传达给拖拉机操作员。该设备使用单芯片加速度计来感知当前的翻车可能性，并使用小型微处理器分析加速度计数据，补偿温度变化的影响，然后将此信息发送到视觉显示器。使用这些低成本的“现成”组件使得能够制造出非常便宜的传感器系统。由于农用拖拉机使用寿命长，使该设备低成本且灵活很重要。这可以使其作为售后附加装置出售给各种型号的拖拉机。该设备还能够通过 CAN 总线与更新的拖拉机车载系统接口，从而使其对可能希望将此设备纳入新车型中的拖拉机制造商更具吸引力。目前正在继续开发改进的显示器，以告知拖拉机操作员可能存在的不稳定情况，包括显示器人体工程学研究、调查向操作员警示潜在不稳定情况的阈值水平以及研究听觉警告信号。 （注：原文中“fatalities”根据语境推测可能是“死亡事故”之意，但这个词在上下文中表述有些突兀，可能原文存在一定错误或不完整。）
