METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE WEAR STATE OF A SELF-PROPELLED AGRICULTURAL HARVESTING MACHINE

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for determining the wear condition of at least one working unit (4, 5) of a self-propelled agricultural harvesting machine (1), in particular a forage harvester (2). Operating data of the working unit (4, 5) are determined by means of at least one sensor device (10) of the harvesting machine (1) before, during and / or after the harvesting machine (1) has carried out a work order on an agricultural area (3). Position data of the harvesting machine (1) on the agricultural area (3) are determined by means of a position determination device (11) of the harvesting machine (1) before, during and / or after the harvesting machine (1) has carried out the work order.The method is characterized by transmitting the operating data and position data to a database (12), wherein the operating data and the position data are stored in the database (12) in a related manner, and by determining a location-referenced wear state of the at least one working unit (4, 5) by means of a processing device (14).

Description

[0001] The present application relates to a method for determining a wear condition of at least one working unit of a self-propelled agricultural harvesting machine, in particular a forage harvester, according to the preamble of independent patent claim 1, as well as to such a self-propelled agricultural harvesting machine, in particular a forage harvester, according to independent patent claim 15.

[0002] During a very short harvest season, it is necessary to carry out the harvesting processes with a high level of efficiency in order to achieve sufficiently high profitability. In addition to the short time window for carrying out the harvesting processes, farmers and contractors are placed under additional pressure by the constantly and often rapidly changing ecological and economic conditions. A key factor in the efficient execution of work orders is monitoring the condition of the harvesting machine's working components, such as drive motors, transmissions, threshing, separating, cleaning, chopping units, etc., in order to ensure that wear-related defects in the working components or the harvesting machine are prevented or at least detected in a timely manner during the short harvest season.

[0003] In this context, for example, DE 10 2017 103 537 A1 discloses a detection arrangement with a magnet arrangement for detecting a wear condition of a chopping mechanism of a field chopper intended for processing a crop flow.

[0004] Accordingly, it is generally known that the wear status of working components of a harvesting machine can be determined using a suitable sensor device. Based on this, the cutting edge geometry of a worn chopper blade on a chopper drum, for example, can be restored by regrinding the chopper blade.

[0005] In order to achieve high levels of profitability, it is necessary not only to carry out work orders efficiently but also to carry out upstream and downstream work associated with the work or harvesting order efficiently. Wear and tear on work units can not only result in a defect or failure of the work unit or harvesting machine, but can also be or become relevant for the invoicing of work orders, the planning of a cultivation and / or harvesting strategy and / or the maintenance of the work units or harvesting machine. Furthermore, wear and tear on the work units has a significant impact on the harvesting machine process. Worn work units or worn components of work units result in the harvesting machine's work result not meeting the target value.

[0006] Although it is possible to determine a wear condition in and of itself using the conventional sensor device, there is no way to relate the specific wear condition or temporal wear progression to an agricultural area and / or a work order carried out on the agricultural area.

[0007] Based on this, it is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a method which correlates wear conditions of working units of a self-propelled agricultural harvesting machine with an agricultural area worked by the harvesting machine and / or a work order carried out by the harvesting machine on this agricultural area in order to ensure a more efficient execution of a harvesting process, including any work steps upstream and / or downstream of the actual work order on the agricultural area.

[0008] This object is achieved according to the invention by the features of independent patent claim 1, wherein advantageous developments of the method according to the invention are the subject of the corresponding dependent patent claims 2 to 14.

[0009] Accordingly, the present invention relates to a method for determining a wear condition of at least one working unit of a self-propelled agricultural harvesting machine, in particular a forage harvester. Operating data of the at least one working unit are determined by means of at least one sensor device of the harvesting machine at a plurality of times before, during, and / or after the harvesting machine carries out a work order on an agricultural field. Position data of the harvesting machine on the agricultural field are determined by means of a position-determining device of the harvesting machine at the plurality of times before, during, and / or after the harvesting machine carries out the work order.The method is characterized in that the operating data and position data are transmitted to a database, wherein the operating data and position data are stored in the database in a manner associated with one another, wherein the sensor device and the position-determining device each communicate with the database for data transmission. By means of a processing device, a location-referenced wear state of the at least one working unit is determined at each of the plurality of times by processing the operating data and position data stored in the database in an analysis routine, wherein the processing device communicates with the database for data transmission.

[0010] The method according to the invention therefore allows, on the one hand, an extremely precise and reliable determination of wear conditions of a working unit of a harvesting machine at different points in time and, on the other hand, the assignment of these wear conditions to a location or position of the harvesting machine at which the harvesting machine was located at the different points in time on the agricultural field. In other words, wear conditions of the working unit at different points in time are obtained with a clear reference to a position of the harvesting machine on the agricultural field at these different points in time. This makes it possible to make the harvesting process, which includes the work order on the agricultural field as well as the work steps upstream and downstream of the work order, the operation of the harvesting machine itself, and the planning of future harvesting processes more efficient and transparent.

[0011] The method steps required to determine the location-referenced wear status of the working unit preferably run automatically and without human intervention. The position-determining device automatically determines when the harvester is located on the agricultural area where the work order is to be performed, thereby initiating the method according to the invention. Alternatively, it would also be possible for a harvester operator to initiate the method as soon as the harvester is located on the agricultural area to be worked.

[0012] The sensor device then determines operating parameters of the work unit at a plurality of times before, during, and / or after the execution of the work order. At the same time, the positioning device determines position data of the harvester on the agricultural field on which the work order is being carried out at the plurality of times. Based on this data, which is transmitted to the database, the processing device determines the wear status of the work unit for which the data is available at each of the plurality of times, with a clear reference to the position of the harvester on the agricultural field at the corresponding time. The determined data is processed by the processing device in an analysis routine.

[0013] In the analysis routine used to determine the wear status of the working unit, an analysis algorithm is applied. This algorithm uses the acquired data to determine the wear status of the working unit at the exact time the data was acquired and assigns this to a location reference of the harvester on the agricultural field. In addition to classic analysis algorithms, such as a fast Fourier transform, the analysis algorithm used in the analysis routine can also be a self-learning analysis algorithm, i.e., an analysis algorithm based on artificial intelligence, preferably an artificial neural network.Before performing an initial determination of a location-referenced wear condition, the adaptive analysis algorithm is trained using an initial data set that defines assignments of various operating parameters of working units and corresponding wear conditions of the working units, made by manual annotation. The data and wear conditions determined during the implementation of the method according to the invention can be used to further train the analysis algorithm.

[0014] According to an advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that, by means of the processing device, depending on the location-referenced wear state of the at least one working unit during the execution of the work order, wear-related costs, a cause of wear, a future cultivation strategy on the agricultural area, a future harvesting strategy for the agricultural area and / or a maintenance interval of the at least one working unit are determined.

[0015] This generates data that is of significant relevance to the upstream and downstream work steps of a harvesting process, influences future processes on the agricultural field, is directly dependent on wear and tear of the working unit, and is otherwise insufficient or impossible to determine by a single person. This enables efficient and transparent execution of the upstream and downstream work steps of the actual work order performed by the harvesting machine on the agricultural field.

[0016] According to an advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that, by means of the processing device, a location-referenced wear index for the at least one working unit is determined on the basis of a location-referenced wear state of the at least one working unit determined at a time immediately before the execution of the work order and a location-referenced wear state of the at least one working unit determined at a time immediately after the execution of the work order.

[0017] Preferably, the costs caused by wear during the execution of the work order are determined using the location-referenced wear indicator.

[0018] In addition or alternatively, the maintenance interval for at least one working unit is determined based on the location-referenced wear index.

[0019] Determining a location-referenced wear indicator, which represents the wear and tear on the harvesting machine's working unit during a work order, has a number of advantages. Firstly, it provides a person, such as a farmer or contractor, who owns the harvesting machine and / or the agricultural area on which the work order was carried out by the harvesting machine, with immediate visibility into the wear and tear caused to a working unit during the work order. This makes it immediately clear what costs were incurred due to wear and tear on the working unit during the work order and where these costs were incurred on the agricultural area during the work order. These costs can then be included in the calculation of total operating costs.

[0020] Determining a wear index is also beneficial for determining maintenance intervals, ensuring that the working units are always in a sufficiently maintained condition before performing a subsequent work order. This significantly reduces harvester downtime, as maintenance of working units can be performed during times when the harvester is not in operation.

[0021] According to an advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that, by means of a display device communicating with the processing device for transmitting data, the location-referenced wear state of the at least one working unit, the costs caused by wear when carrying out the work order, the cause of wear, the future cultivation strategy on the agricultural area, the future harvesting strategy for the agricultural area and / or the maintenance interval of the at least one working unit are displayed.

[0022] Preferably, a course of the location-referenced wear state of the at least one working unit and / or the location-referenced wear state of the at least one working unit is displayed in a mapped manner by means of the display device.

[0023] This makes information directly resulting from the wear condition accessible to a person, enabling them to take actions related to the harvester itself or the harvesting process based on the information presented. The display can be text-based and / or graphical.

[0024] According to an advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that, by means of a plurality of sensor devices, operating data of a plurality of working units of the harvesting machine are determined simultaneously at the plurality of times before, during and / or after the execution of the work order, wherein, by means of the processing device, the location-referenced wear state of the plurality of working units is determined simultaneously.

[0025] Preferably, a wear condition of the harvesting machine is determined based on the location-referenced wear condition of the plurality of working units.

[0026] Accordingly, the method according to the invention can be used not only to reliably determine the wear status of a specific working unit at different points in time. Rather, operating data from a large number of working units can be determined simultaneously. Based on these data, together with the position data, a location-referenced wear status of each of these working units can then be determined by the processing device at different points in time. The wear status of the harvester can then be reliably determined from the totality of the individual location-referenced closure states of the individual working units.

[0027] All known contactless and contact sensors arranged on a harvesting machine that serve to determine operating parameters can be considered as sensor devices.

[0028] According to an advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that the determination of the location-referenced wear state of the at least one working unit, the costs caused by wear during the execution of the work order, the cause of wear, the future cultivation strategy on the agricultural area, the future harvesting strategy for the agricultural area and / or the maintenance interval of the at least one working unit is carried out taking into account reference data.

[0029] The reference data preferably comprise characteristic map data of the at least one working unit and / or the harvesting machine stored in the database, historical data on wear conditions of the at least one working unit, geometric data of the at least one working unit and / or the harvesting machine, load collectives of the at least one working unit and / or the harvesting machine, weather data and / or agronomic data of the agricultural area, in particular soil data, inventory data, yield data and / or area data.

[0030] The use of reference data as an additional input variable in the analysis routine ensures a significant increase in the accuracy in determining the location-referenced wear condition of the at least one working unit, the costs incurred due to wear when carrying out the work order, the cause of wear, the future cultivation strategy on the agricultural area, the future harvesting strategy for the agricultural area and / or the maintenance interval of the at least one working unit.

[0031] According to an advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that the database, the processing device and / or the display device are each designed as an external device or as a device assigned to the harvesting machine.

[0032] Preferably, the database and the processing device are designed as external devices, wherein the database and the processing device together form a management system.

[0033] Further preferably, the management system is assigned to an entity that is independent of a person to whom the harvesting machine and / or the agricultural area on which the work order is carried out is assigned, wherein use of the management system for carrying out the method steps is enabled by the entity if authorization is present.

[0034] The management system can therefore be assigned either to the person, for example, the farmer or contractor, who operates the harvesting machine and / or the agricultural land on which the work order is carried out, or to a service provider (entity). The person, for example, the farmer or contractor, can have the service provider activate the use of the management system for carrying out the method according to the invention by paying a fee (i.e., as an as-a-service functionality).

[0035] According to an advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that the at least one sensor device is an inductively operating sensor device and the at least one working unit is a knife drum of a chopper of a forage harvester provided with a plurality of chopping knives, wherein, by means of the processing device, the location-related wear state of one or more chopping knives of the knife drum is determined.

[0036] The object of the invention is further achieved by a self-propelled agricultural harvesting machine, in particular a forage harvester, according to independent patent claim 15.

[0037] The present invention is described in more detail below with reference to the embodiments shown in the figures.

[0038] They show: FIG. 1 shows a schematic and exemplary representation of a self-propelled agricultural harvesting machine according to the invention in the form of a forage harvester; FIG. 2 shows a schematic and exemplary representation of devices for carrying out the method according to the invention; and FIG. 3 shows a schematic and exemplary representation of a display device according to the invention for displaying information obtained during the implementation of the method according to the invention.

[0039] FIG. 1shows a schematic and exemplary representation of a self-propelled agricultural harvesting machine 1 according to the invention in the form of a forage harvester 2, which carries out a work order or harvesting order on an agricultural area 3. The body of the forage harvester 2 is shown cut open in its front part, below a driver's cab, in order to be able to show internal, crop processing working units 4 of the forage harvester 2, which are connected to a FIG. 1, which serve as the drive unit 5, in the form of a drive motor 6. One of these crop-processing working units 4 is a so-called chopper 7 with a knife drum 8, which in turn is provided with a plurality of chopping knives 9 distributed along its circumference. The present invention is not limited to a forage harvester 2, but is equally suitable for other self-propelled harvesting machines 1, for example a combine harvester. Here, however, and preferably, it is a forage harvester 2.

[0040] The harvesting machine 1 according to the invention further comprises at least one sensor device 10 and a position determining device 11, as in FIG. 2shown. The sensor device 10 and the position-determining device 11 are each connected to a database 12 or communicate with the database 12 for the transmission of data, so that the data determined by the sensor device 10 and the position-determining device 11 can be transmitted to the database 12 and stored therein. The database 12 can be designed as a cloud-based database. Furthermore, it is possible for the database 12 to be centralized or decentralized, for example as a blockchain database. In addition to the data from the sensor device 10 and the position-determining device 11, so-called reference data 13 can be or will be stored in the database 12. The database 12 is further connected to a processing device 14 or communicates with the processing device 14 for the transmission of data. A display device 15 can in turn be connected to the processing device 14 orThe processing device 14 can communicate with the display device 15 for data transmission. Communication between the various devices 10, 11, 12, 14, 15 for data transmission can be either wired and / or wireless.

[0041] With reference to the previously described devices 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, the method according to the invention for determining a wear state of at least one working unit 4, 5 of the harvesting machine 1 is described in detail below.

[0042] As already described at the beginning, the wear of a working unit 4, 5 of a harvesting machine 1 can not only result in a defect or failure of the working unit 4, 5 or the harvesting machine 1, but can also be or become relevant for the invoicing of work orders, the planning of a cultivation and / or harvesting strategy, the maintenance of the working unit or the harvesting machine and / or for an obligation to provide evidence.

[0043] Having said this, the method according to the invention now provides that, first, operating data of the at least one working unit 4, 5 are determined by means of the at least one sensor device 10 of the harvesting machine 1 at a plurality of times t 1,...,n before, during and / or after the execution of a work order on the agricultural area 3 by the harvesting machine 1. These operating data are transmitted from the sensor device 10 to the database 12, with transmission preferably taking place at each time t of the plurality of times t 1,...,n at which the operating data were determined by the sensor device 10. Alternatively, the operating data can also be transmitted to the database 12 in bulk after completion of the work order.

[0044] At the same time, the position-determining device 11 of the harvesting machine 1 determines position data of the harvesting machine 1 at a plurality of times t 1,...,n before, during, and / or after the execution of the work order on the agricultural area 3 by the harvesting machine 1. This position data is transmitted from the position-determining device 11 to the database 12, with transmission preferably occurring at each time t of the plurality of times t 1,...,n at which the position data were determined by the position-determining device 11. Alternatively, the position data can also be transmitted to the database 12 in bulk after completion of the work order.

[0045] Both the operating data and the position data at each time t of the plurality of times t 1,...,n are stored in the database 12 after they are transmitted to it. The operating data and position data are assigned to one another and stored in the database 12. The assignment of operating data and position data can be achieved by providing each data value with a timestamp that represents the time t of the plurality of times t 1,...,n. By means of the processing device 14, the operating data and position data stored in the database 12 are processed in an analysis routine such that a location-referenced wear state of the working unit 4, 5 is determined at each time t of the plurality of times t 1,...,n. In other words, by means of the processing device 14, a wear state of the working unit 4, 5 is determined at each time t of the plurality of times t 1,...,n, wherein the determined wear state at a time t includes a unique reference to a location or a position of the harvesting machine 1 on the agricultural area 3 at this time t, i.e. a unique location reference.

[0046] The wear state is determined by the processing device 14 by processing the determined data in an analysis routine. To determine the location-referenced wear state of the working unit 4, 5, the analysis routine applies an analysis algorithm by means of which the operating data of the working unit 4, 5 determined by the sensor device 10 and the position data of the harvesting machine 1 determined by the position-determining device 11 are processed in such a way that the wear state of the working unit 4, 5 is determined. The wear state of the working unit 4, 5 can be determined by the processing device 14, for example, in % wear, where 0% wear defines no wear of the working unit 4, 5 and 100% wear defines the reaching of the maximum service life of the working unit 4, 5.The processing device 14 is further designed to detect an operationally critical wear condition of the working unit 4, 5, which could, for example, be present at a wear value greater than 60%, by comparing the determined location-referenced wear condition with a limit value stored in the database 12, which defines an operationally critical wear condition.

[0047] Preferably, in addition to the operating data determined by the sensor device 10 and the position data determined by the position-determining device 11, the aforementioned reference data 13 stored in the database 12 are used as the input variable for the analysis algorithm. Reference data 13 can include characteristic map data of the working unit 4, 5 and / or the harvesting machine 1, historical data on wear conditions of the working unit 4, 5, geometric data of the working unit 4, 5 and / or the harvesting machine 1, load spectra of the working unit 4, 5 and / or the harvesting machine 1, weather data, and / or agronomic data of the agricultural area 3, in particular soil slabs, inventory data, yield data, and / or area data.

[0048] The analysis algorithm used in the analysis routine by the processing device 14 can be a self-learning analysis algorithm, i.e., an analysis algorithm based on artificial intelligence, preferably an artificial neural network. Before performing a first determination of a location-referenced wear state, the self-learning analysis algorithm is trained using an initial data set that defines assignments of various operating parameters of work units 4, 5 and corresponding wear states of the work units 4, 5, made by manual annotation. The data and determined wear states determined during the implementation of the method according to the invention can be used to further train the analysis algorithm.

[0049] By means of the processing device 14, the costs caused by wear during the execution of the work order, a cause of the wear, a future cultivation strategy on the agricultural area 3, a future harvesting strategy for the agricultural area 3 and / or a maintenance interval of the working unit 4, 5 can be determined depending on the location-referenced wear state of the working unit 4, 5.

[0050] The determined location-referenced wear states of the working unit 4, 5 at the plurality of times t 1,...,n before, during and / or after the execution of the work order by the harvesting machine 1, a possible critical wear state of the working unit 4, 5, the costs incurred due to wear when carrying out the work order, a cause of the wear, a future cultivation strategy on the agricultural area 3, a future harvesting strategy for the agricultural area 3 and / or a maintenance interval of the working unit 4, 5 can be displayed or represented by means of the display device 15. The display or representation of this information on the display device 15 can be optionally text-based and / or graphical, in particular by means of graphic elements and / or by color highlighting.In addition to the representation of the determined location-referenced wear states of the working unit 4, 5, a progression of these location-referenced wear states of the working unit 4, 5 can also be represented, preferably graphically. Furthermore, it is possible for the determined location-referenced wear states of the at least one working unit 4, 5 to be represented or displayed in map form by means of the display device 15. In other words, a map of the agricultural area 3 is represented or displayed by means of the display device 15, on which map the determined wear states of the working unit 4, 5 are each assigned to a specific area of ​​the agricultural area 3. FIG. 3 shows such a map of the determined wear conditions displayed by the display device 15. The FIG. 3The map displayed by the display device 15 shows two agricultural areas 3, each of the two agricultural areas 3 being divided into several areas whose boundaries are defined by fine lines on the map. The hatching or coloring of each area indicates the wear and tear caused to the work unit 4, 5 during the processing of this area, or a change in the state of wear that arose as a result of the processing of this area. Based on this, the person, for example a farmer or contractor, to whom the map is displayed by the display device 15, can directly assess the work order carried out on the corresponding agricultural area 3.In display areas adjacent to the display area of ​​the map, further information can be shown, such as the costs caused by wear when carrying out the work order, a cause of the wear, a future cultivation strategy on the corresponding agricultural area 3, a future harvesting strategy for the corresponding agricultural area 3, a maintenance interval of the working unit 4, 5 and / or information on the working unit 4, 5 of the harvesting machine 1 whose wear status is being considered.

[0051] Furthermore, based on the determination of a location-referenced wear state of the working unit 4, 5 at the plurality of times t 1,...,n by the processing device 14, a location-referenced wear index can be determined by the processing device 14. For this purpose, a location-referenced wear state of the working unit 4, 5 determined at a time t 1 immediately before the harvesting machine 1 carries out the work order by the processing device 14 is compared with a location-referenced wear state of the working unit 4, 5 determined at a time t n immediately after the harvesting machine 1 carries out the work order by the processing device 14, and based on this comparison, the location-referenced wear index for the working unit 4, 5 is determined by the processing device 14.The location-referenced wear index represents the wear of the working unit 4, 5 that occurred during the execution of the work order by the harvesting machine 1 on the agricultural area 3. The location-referenced wear index determined by the processing device 14 is stored in the database 12.

[0052] The location-referenced wear index determined by the processing device 14 for the working unit 4, 5 can be used or processed to determine the costs incurred due to wear during the execution of the work order by the harvesting machine 1. For example, the location-referenced wear index can be used to determine which costs were incurred when and where on the agricultural area 3 during the execution of the work order by the harvesting machine 1. These costs can be used to determine the operating costs incurred for the execution of the work order by the harvesting machine 1.

[0053] In addition or alternatively, the location-referenced wear index for the working unit 4, 5 determined by the processing device 14 can be used or processed to determine a maintenance interval for the working unit 4, 5, whereby the maintenance of the working unit 4, 5 or the harvesting machine 1 can be planned in an efficient manner.

[0054] Using the processing device 14, not only can the location-referenced wear status of a working unit 4, 5 of the harvesting machine 1 be determined. Rather, the wear status of a plurality of working units 4, 5 of the harvesting machine 1 can be determined simultaneously. For this purpose, a plurality of sensor devices 10 of the harvesting machine 1 are used to determine operating data of a plurality of working units 4, 5 of the harvesting machine 1 at the plurality of times t 1,...,n before, during, and / or after the execution of the work order by the harvesting machine 1. Based on this plurality of operating data and the position data, which are determined by the position-determining device 11 at the plurality of times t 1,...,n were determined before, during and / or after the execution of the work order by the harvesting machine 1, a location-referenced wear state of each working unit 4, 5 of the plurality of working units 4, 5 at the corresponding time t is determined by means of the processing device 14. Based on the location-referenced wear states of each working unit 4, 5 of the plurality of working units 4, 5, a wear state of the harvesting machine 1 as a whole can also be determined by means of the processing device 14.

[0055] The processing device 14, the database 12, and / or the display device 15 can each be configured as an external device or as a device assigned to the harvesting machine 1. If the processing device 14 and the database 12 are configured as external devices, they can jointly form a management system 16. Such a management system 16 can be assigned to an entity, for example a service provider, that is independent of a person, for example a farmer or a contractor, who is assigned the harvesting machine 1 or the agricultural area 3 on which the work order is carried out. Use of the management system 16 to carry out the method can be activated by the entity, i.e. the service provider, if authorization is available.In particular, the person can have the service provider activate the use of the administration system 16 for implementing the method according to the invention by paying a fee. The implementation of the method according to the invention is then offered as a fee-based external service, i.e., as an as-a-service functionality.

[0056] It is also possible for the harvesting machine 1 to automatically generate an instruction concerning the operation of the harvesting machine 1 by means of the processing device 14 based on the determined location-dependent wear state at the times t 1,...,n. For example, it would be possible for the processing device 14 to automatically stop or switch off the working unit 4, 5 and / or switch off certain functions of the harvesting machine 1 required for the execution of the work order upon determining a critical wear state of the working unit 4, 5 during the execution of the work order. Furthermore, it is possible for the harvesting machine 1 to automatically commission maintenance of the working unit 4, 5 by means of the processing device 14 upon determining a critical wear state of the working unit 4, 5.

[0057] The method is preferably carried out on the forage harvester 2 shown in the FIGS. The sensor device 10 is an inductively operating sensor device 10 arranged in the region of a cutting drum 8 of a chopper 7 of the forage harvester 2, said cutting drum being provided with a plurality of chopping knives 9. Using the processing device 14, a location-specific wear state of one or more chopping knives 9 of the cutting drum 8 is determined at each time t of the plurality of times t 1,...,n based on the recorded operating data of the inductively operating sensor device 10 and the position data of the forage harvester 2.

[0058] Finally, it should be noted that the embodiments described above serve only to describe the claimed teaching, but are in no way to be regarded as limiting or exhaustive. List of reference symbols

[0059] 1Harvester 2Forage harvester 3Agricultural area 4Working unit 5Working unit 6Drive motor 7Chopper 8Cutter drum 9Chopper blade 10Sensor device 11Positioning device 12Database 13Reference data 14Processing device 15Display device 16Management system

Claims

1. A method for determining a wear condition of at least one working unit (4, 5) of a self-propelled agricultural harvesting machine (1), in particular a forage harvester (2), comprising the following method steps: - by means of at least one sensor device (10) of the harvesting machine (1), determining operating data of the at least one working unit (4, 5) at a plurality of times (t 1,...,n ) before, during and / or after the execution of a work order on an agricultural area (3) by the harvesting machine (1); - by means of a position determination device (11) of the harvesting machine (1), determining position data of the harvesting machine (1) on the agricultural area (3) at the plurality of times (t 1,...,n ) before, during and / or after the execution of the work order by the harvesting machine (1); characterized by the process steps:- transmitting the operating data and position data to a database (12), wherein the operating data and the position data are stored in the database (12) in an associated manner, wherein the sensor device (10) and the position-determining device (11) each communicate with the database (12) for the transmission of data; - by means of a processing device (14), determining a location-referenced wear state of the at least one working unit (4, 5) at each time point (t) of the plurality of times (t 1,...,n ) by processing the operating data and position data stored in the database (12) in an analysis routine, wherein the processing device (14) communicates with the database (12) for the transmission of data.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that,by means of the processing device (14), depending on the location-referenced wear state of the at least one working unit (4, 5), costs caused by wear during the execution of the work order, a cause of wear, a future cultivation strategy on the agricultural area (3), a future harvesting strategy for the agricultural area (3) and / or a maintenance interval of the at least one working unit (4, 5) are determined.

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, by means of the processing device (14), on the basis of a location-referenced wear state of the at least one working unit (4, 5) determined at a time (t1) immediately before the execution of the work order and a wear state determined at a time (t n) a location-referenced wear index for the at least one work unit (4, 5) is determined immediately after the execution of the work order based on the location-referenced wear state of the at least one work unit (4, 5).

4. Method according to claim 2 and 3, characterized in that The costs caused by wear during the execution of the work order are determined using the location-referenced wear indicator.

5. Method according to claim 2 and 3 or claim 4, characterized in that the maintenance interval for at least one working unit (4, 5) is determined based on the location-referenced wear index.

6. Method according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that,by means of a display device (15) communicating with the processing device (14) for transmitting data, the location-referenced wear state of the at least one working unit (4, 5), the costs caused by wear when carrying out the work order, the cause of wear, the future cultivation strategy on the agricultural area (3), the future harvesting strategy for the agricultural area (3) and / or the maintenance interval of the at least one working unit (4, 5) is displayed.

7. Method according to claim 6, characterized in that, by means of the display device (15), a course of the location-referenced wear state of the at least one working unit (4, 5) and / or the location-referenced wear state of the at least one working unit (4, 5) is displayed in a mapped manner.

8. Method according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that,by means of a plurality of sensor devices (10), simultaneously operating data of a plurality of working units (4, 5) of the harvesting machine (1) at the plurality of times (t 1,...,n ) before, during and / or after the execution of the work order, wherein, by means of the processing device (14), the location-referenced wear state of the plurality of work units (4, 5) is determined at the same time, wherein, preferably, a wear state of the harvesting machine (1) is determined on the basis of the location-referenced wear state of the plurality of work units (4, 5).

9. Method according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in thatthe determination of the location-referenced wear condition of the at least one working unit (4, 5), the costs caused by wear during the execution of the work order, the cause of wear, the future cultivation strategy on the agricultural area (3), the future harvesting strategy for the agricultural area (3) and / or the maintenance interval of the at least one working unit (4, 5) is carried out taking into account reference data (13).

10. Method according to claim 9, characterized in thatthe reference data (13) comprise characteristic map data of the at least one working unit (4, 5) and / or the harvesting machine (1) stored in the database, historical data on wear conditions of the at least one working unit (4, 5), geometric data of the at least one working unit (4, 5) and / or the harvesting machine (1), load collectives of the at least one working unit (4, 5) and / or the harvesting machine (1), weather data and / or agronomic data of the agricultural area (3), in particular soil data, inventory data, yield data and / or area data.

11. Method according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the database (12), the processing device (14) and / or the display device (15) are each designed as an external device or as a device assigned to the harvesting machine (1).

12. Method according to claim 11, characterized in thatthe database (12) and the processing device (14) are designed as external devices and together form a management system (16).

13. Method according to claim 12, characterized in that the management system (16) is assigned to an entity that is independent of a person to whom the harvesting machine (1) and / or the agricultural area (3) on which the work order is carried out is assigned, wherein use of the management system (16) for carrying out the method steps is enabled by the entity if there is authorization.

14. Method according to one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in thatthe at least one sensor device (10) is an inductively operating sensor device (10) and the at least one working unit (4) is a knife drum (8) of a chopper (7) of a field chopper (2) provided with a plurality of chopping knives (9), wherein the location-related wear state of one or more chopping knives (9) of the knife drum (8) is determined by means of the processing device (14).

15. Self-propelled agricultural harvesting machine (1), in particular a forage harvester (2), for use in a method according to one of claims 1 to 14.