Work equipment, work vehicle with such work equipment, kit for manufacturing the work equipment and method for operating at least the work equipment

Abstract

In a boom-mounted implement (1), particularly a mower, an electric motor is chosen for the head motor (4) that drives the working head (2), since it is smaller and lighter than a hydraulic motor of the same power and, above all, can deliver a peak load approximately twice that of the base load when required. This electric head motor (4) is powered either by its own generator (4'), which is preferably mounted on and driven by the implement (1), and / or by a battery (6), either a small buffer battery (6b) for peak loads or a large supply battery (6a), which is charged either externally or directly by the combustion engine (102) of the carrier vehicle (100).

Description

I. Area of ​​application

[0001] The invention relates to a work vehicle comprising a carrier vehicle and a work device which is mounted on the carrier vehicle during operation and is moved forward by the carrier vehicle during work operations and is usually also driven by the carrier vehicle. II. Technical Background

[0002] A typical application of such a work device is, for example, a mowing device attached to a tractor, Unimog or truck, with which the vegetation of the ground, especially in the area next to the carrier vehicle traveling in the direction of travel, is mowed, for example the edge area next to a road.

[0003] The working device, in this case a mowing device, comprises as its working head a mowing head which is held on the carrier vehicle by means of a fastening device, this fastening device often comprising a boom arm consisting of several articulated arm sections, at the front free end of which the working head, in this case a mowing head, is held.

[0004] Instead of such a mowing device, it could also be, for example, a washing device, which may include a rotating washing brush that is also rotatable like the cutter shaft of a mowing head and is also often attached to the free end of the boom arm.

[0005] Such a work device can be attached to the front or rear of a carrier vehicle, and work devices are also known which comprise two separate working heads, in particular mowing heads, each of which is held on a separate boom arm and is supported either by the same or by two different fastening devices.

[0006] Such a working head must not only be driven with the necessary power, but also be controllable with regard to its position and orientation by an operator, who usually sits in the driver's cab of the carrier vehicle and controls the working device, in particular the working head, usually by means of a joystick.

[0007] Such work devices are usually hydraulically driven - at least from an energy requirement of about 10 kW, which is mainly needed for driving the working head - by, for example, attaching a hydraulic head motor directly to the working head to drive the movable working element to be driven, such as the cutter shaft.

[0008] The head motor is supplied with energy in the form of hydraulic medium via hydraulic lines that run along the mounting devices and, if applicable, also the boom arm, and are supplied with hydraulic fluid by a hydraulic pump, which is usually located at the mounting base of the mounting device.

[0009] The hydraulic pump is mechanically fixed against rotation, usually coupled to a power take-off shaft driven by the vehicle's drive motor.

[0010] However, this solution has disadvantages: a)

[0011] Firstly, the energy requirements of the head motor can change significantly:

[0012] For example, the energy requirement of the head motor of a mower head changes depending on how much force is needed to cut the material being mowed.

[0013] This is because such a mowing head not only cuts simple grass, but everything that is in the mowing area, from perennials with thin branches to bushes whose branches can be several centimeters thick.

[0014] Since the head motor must always receive the required energy – the actual amount of energy supplied can depend, among other things, on the driving speed of the carrier vehicle – from the hydraulic pump in real time, this can lead to a situation where either the driving speed of the carrier vehicle has to be reduced when the energy demand of the mower head is high and / or the speed of the drive motor of the carrier vehicle, which drives the hydraulic pump, has to be increased from the optimal range, i.e. the optimal, most energy-efficient speed, while at the same time the driving speed of the carrier vehicle should be maintained unchanged or even reduced.

[0015] This not only requires a high level of control engineering effort, but because the drive motor is frequently operated away from its optimal speed, the fuel consumption caused by the implement is very high and constitutes the main part of the operating costs of such an implement. b)

[0016] Furthermore, in relation to the power provided, a hydraulic motor is relatively heavy compared to other types of motors, which means that the weight of the working head to be supported by the boom arm, on which the hydraulic motor is directly located, is relatively high, which necessitates a correspondingly heavy and stable design of the mounting device and also of any boom arm that may be present.

[0017] This in turn requires correspondingly large actuating elements to effect the adjustment and positioning of all moving parts of the fastening device, and also a correspondingly low possible acceleration of the parts of the fastening device to be adjusted, which limits the speed of the change in position, e.g. of the working head.

[0018] A fundamental disadvantage of a hydraulic motor is that its size always depends on the peak load that the hydraulic motor must be able to deliver, even if this peak load is only needed very rarely and for short periods. c)

[0019] Another disadvantage is the thickness and limited flexibility of the hydraulic lines, which represent a design disadvantage and, moreover, pose an environmental risk if damaged, as large quantities of hydraulic fluid can very quickly enter the environment.

[0020] The possibility of driving the working head, in particular the mowing head, of an implement to be mounted on a carrier vehicle not hydraulically as before, but electrically, is known from the documents WO 2018 / 024952 A1, US 2008 / 0066827 A1, EP 2949198 A1, EP 2404811 A1, US 3032956 A, DE 102004056233 A1, DE 102009033706 A1 and DE 102004007837 A1.

[0021] For the power supply, DE 102009033706 A1 and US 3032956 A use the power of the carrier vehicle, i.e. its battery or generator.

[0022] In WO 2018 / 024952 A1, the generator for the power supply of the work equipment is also located within the work equipment itself. Whether this internal generator is driven hydraulically or mechanically from the carrier vehicle is not described.

[0023] The other documents are also silent about the power source used and its type and positioning, i.e., in the work equipment or in the carrier vehicle.

[0024] If the working device is held on a boom arm consisting of several articulated arm sections, the sections are adjusted in their pivot position relative to each other by means of hydraulic cylinders in all documents that include such a boom arm, namely WO 2018 / 024952 A1, US 2008 / 0066827 A1, EP 2949198 A1, EP 2404811 A1, DE 102004056233 A1, DE 102009033706 A1.

[0025] These publications show finished work equipment and work vehicles, but not a kit for creating different variants of a work equipment or work vehicle.

[0026] These documents also do not describe a predictive assessment of whether increased energy consumption will soon be required to operate the machine. DE 102004007837 A1 only registers an already increased amount of material being cut in the machine and only then reacts by increasing the drive power. III. Description of the invention a) Technical problem

[0027] The object of the invention is therefore to provide a work vehicle with a work device and a carrier vehicle equipped therewith, wherein the work device consumes less energy and / or allows higher efficiency, in particular a higher working speed, compared to known designs, and is in particular lighter than previous solutions.

[0028] Furthermore, the task is to be able to manufacture different versions of such a tool very easily.

[0029] Another task is to be able to operate such a work vehicle with a work device and a carrier vehicle equipped with it in a particularly energy-efficient manner. b) Solution of the task

[0030] This problem is solved by the features of claims 1 and 13. Advantageous embodiments are described in the dependent claims.

[0031] With regard to the working equipment of the work vehicle, this problem is solved by the fact that, in a generic working equipment according to the preamble of claim 1, the head motor arranged on the working head for driving a working element is an electric motor and is accordingly connected to an energy source via electrical lines.

[0032] The working element is usually a rotating driven working element such as a head shaft or a cutter shaft, but working elements driven in other ways, such as an oscillating driven cutter bar, are also occasionally used.

[0033] The use of an electric motor has the advantage that, with the same continuous power output compared to the hydraulic motor otherwise used at this location, the electric motor is smaller and lighter, and can also deliver a significantly higher peak power output for short periods, usually twice as high as its continuous power output.

[0034] The lower weight and smaller size reduce the mass of the work equipment that needs to be accelerated, moved and positioned during operation, which on the one hand improves the accuracy of the controllability of the work equipment, but above all reduces the load on the fastening device, especially the boom arm, which therefore needs to be less massive.

[0035] The higher available peak power means that in the event of a short-term increase in energy demand – for example, when a mower has to mow very resistant vegetation such as thick undergrowth over a short distance – the peak power of the electric motor can be accessed without having to reduce the driving speed of the implement, i.e., the carrier vehicle, resulting in an overall higher area output of the implement.

[0036] Preferably, the working device also includes sensors such that the control system is able to calculate or estimate the power required by the electric head motor in advance based on the signals from these sensors, and to take appropriate measures, for example, supplying electrical energy from the buffer battery and, in extreme cases, reducing the driving speed of the carrier vehicle and / or increasing the speed of the drive motor of the carrier vehicle that drives the electric generator of the working device.

[0037] This enables the work of the work equipment and carrier vehicle to be carried out as evenly and efficiently as possible.

[0038] The head motor is located on the head and connected to the head assembly, for example via a belt or chain drive, preferably aligned with and, in particular, directly on the head shaft of the working head and rotationally fixed to it, thus simplifying the mounting and making the working head particularly compact. Ideally, there is no gearbox between the electric head motor and the working element, such as the cutter shaft.

[0039] If the electric head motor – depending on its power output – has liquid cooling, the cooler is positioned as close as possible to the electric head motor and protected from damage in order to minimize the length of the coolant lines between the cooler and the head motor and thus reduce the risk of damage to them. However, positioning a liquid cooler directly on the working head is very problematic, both technically and in terms of the risk of damage.

[0040] If the working device includes an electric generator, the working device generally also has a movable, in particular rotatable, drive nozzle which is mechanically connected to the generator and can drive it, and is also designed and arranged in such a way that it can be mechanically driven from the carrier vehicle.

[0041] To keep the masses of the working device that need to be moved and accelerated low, several arrangement options for the generator are possible: The electric generator could be arranged – which is difficult to implement technically and for weight reasons – on the mounting device for the working head, and if this includes a boom arm, preferably on the mounting base for the boom arm, which is provided for attachment to the carrier vehicle.

[0042] There, for example at the mounting base, a connection device, in particular a connection receptacle, is provided which is designed for mounting on a power take-off shaft, in particular the front power take-off shaft or rear power take-off shaft of a carrier vehicle - depending on the mounting location of the implement on the carrier vehicle - and is mechanically driven by the carrier vehicle.

[0043] In this variant, the generator is part of the mounting device of the work equipment and does not need to be mounted separately on the carrier vehicle when mounting the work equipment on a carrier vehicle.

[0044] However, it may also be advantageous to arrange the generator separately on the carrier vehicle, away from the mounting device, particularly near its drive engine, and especially to drive it from the drive engine via a circulating traction element such as a belt or chain, like other auxiliary units of the drive engine.

[0045] This increases the assembly effort when attaching the work equipment to the carrier vehicle, unless this generator remains permanently on the carrier vehicle to supply power to the work equipment.

[0046] The advantage, however, is that the weight of the fastening device and thus of the entire work equipment, which is usually attached at the very front or far back of the carrier vehicle, is kept low, thus reducing the one-sided weight load outside the axle space.

[0047] Such an electric generator can directly power the electric head motor, whereby the current power input of the electric head motor is then limited to the current power output of the electric generator.

[0048] In order to access the peak performance of the electric head motor, the electric generator would have to be designed to be correspondingly powerful and therefore correspondingly large and heavy.

[0049] To avoid this, preferably at least one small buffer battery is also provided, while the generator is only dimensioned to provide the continuous power of the electric head motor.

[0050] The additional electrical power required to access the peak power of the head motor is then provided by the buffer battery and / or electrical buffer capacitors, which are of course always kept fully charged during operation whenever possible.

[0051] Accordingly, the generator can preferably supply the generated electric current either to the electric drive motor or the buffer battery, or distribute the generated electric current between the two depending on the current power requirement of the electric head motor.

[0052] Similarly, the head motor can optionally draw electrical energy only from the generator, or additionally also from the buffer battery, or if necessary, only from the buffer battery.

[0053] The connection between these three elements can also be designed so that the generator supplies the generated current exclusively to the buffer battery, and the electric head motor draws the required current exclusively from the buffer battery or the buffer capacitors, which, however, results in specific characteristics and an increased load on the buffer battery.

[0054] Depending on the size and / or weight of the battery, different mounting positions are possible: For use as a pure buffer battery or as a buffer capacitor for the electric head motor, the battery will typically have a capacity of no more than 10 kW, and therefore its weight and size will be so small that it can still be attached to the mounting device, in particular the mounting base for the boom arm, as this facilitates the mounting of the work equipment and access to the buffer battery and also its cooling, although it slightly increases the front load or rear load of the carrier vehicle.

[0055] If, on the other hand, the battery is larger and heavier because it has to perform additional power supply functions, it is preferably not positioned on the mounting device, but attached separately to the carrier vehicle, preferably in the front or rear end of the vehicle opposite the mounting point of the implement. This is because, as a rule, a counterweight is present in this area on a carrier vehicle that only carries one implement, for example, at the front, to reduce the vehicle's front-end heaviness. The battery then serves as such a counterweight.

[0056] In the case of a very large battery, it is preferably located on the rear loading platform if positioned in the rear area.

[0057] A particularly large battery is necessary especially if it is not only intended to supply electrical energy to other driven elements of the work equipment, such as actuators for the boom arm, but above all if such a supply battery is also intended to enable an electric drive system for the carrier vehicle, whose drive system must then of course include at least one electric motor as part of a hybrid drive, or even just one electric motor as a drive motor for an electric drive system of the carrier vehicle.

[0058] Depending on the intended use of the work equipment, this can be useful to minimize the noise emissions and / or exhaust emissions of the work vehicle, for example if it is to be used for work at night in residential areas.

[0059] Since the volume of such a supply battery is hardly limited when placed on the loading platform of the carrier vehicle, and the carrier vehicle itself usually does not have to cope with large accelerations, the resulting increased overall weight of the carrier vehicle may be acceptable in order to take advantage of the benefits that can be achieved.

[0060] In the case of an electric drive system for the carrier vehicle, such a supply battery is usually already provided on the carrier vehicle itself, which can then either be used additionally as a buffer battery or supply battery for the work equipment or can be extended for this purpose.

[0061] The drive system of the carrier vehicle can in particular also be a hybrid drive system, especially a so-called power-split or parallel hybrid drive system, and the drive of the carrier vehicle can be carried out via electric motors, whereby an internal combustion engine, which always runs in the optimal operating state and has no mechanical connection to the drive system of the carrier vehicle, serves only to drive a central generator, which charges the large supply battery, which supplies both the electric drive system of the carrier vehicle and the electrical consumers of the work equipment with electrical current.

[0062] The fastening device includes, in particular, a fastening base which is attached to the carrier vehicle and from which the rest of the work equipment is supported, and, if a boom arm is present, the boom arm is supported.

[0063] Preferably, the boom arm is movable with its vehicle-side end in a transverse direction along the mounting base along a transverse offset rail running there in a transverse direction, to which the boom arm is then attached.

[0064] A drive source is necessary to move the carriage, and if the mounting device for the working head is movable in any way, which is practically always the case, especially if the arm parts of an existing boom arm need to be adjusted relative to each other, adjusting elements are also necessary for this, which require a drive.

[0065] These auxiliary drives of the work equipment have so far generally been hydraulically driven, for example, the actuating elements for adjusting the arm sections of the boom arm to each other are hydraulic cylinders.

[0066] Several options are also available for supplying these auxiliary drives: Either these are hydraulically driven as before, meaning each auxiliary drive of the implement has its own small hydraulic motor, but the hydraulic fluid for this is then preferably taken from the hydraulic system of the carrier vehicle, for which the implement has a corresponding hydraulic connection. This avoids the need for a separate hydraulic pump as part of the implement.

[0067] However, these auxiliary drives can also be electrically driven by including, for example, an electric motor or an electromagnet – if only two switching positions need to be selected.

[0068] Since these electric auxiliary drives require only relatively low power, they can optionally be supplied with electrical energy either from the electrical system of the carrier vehicle, for which a corresponding electrical connection must be available on the implement, or from the implement's own electrical network, as described above, consisting of its own generator and / or battery.

[0069] Which variant is chosen depends primarily on control and assembly issues.

[0070] The control system is preferably able to switch the direction of rotation of the head motor, which can be very helpful for certain work tasks.

[0071] Furthermore, the control system is capable of stopping the electric head motor very quickly in the event of an emergency stop, preferably in less than 4 seconds, ideally in less than 3 or even 2 seconds. This is extremely important, especially if the working head has come into contact with an unexpected obstacle.

[0072] With regard to the work vehicle, this task is preferably further solved by the fact that the carrier vehicle has the connections mentioned for the purposes described above: On the one hand, at least one driven mechanical element, which is driven in particular by the drive motor of the carrier vehicle, in particular a front power take-off and / or rear power take-off and / or a pulley driven by the drive motor, e.g.

[0073] Alternatively, the work machine can have its own engine as an energy source, separate from the drive engine, in particular an internal combustion engine, in particular a diesel engine or a gas engine.

[0074] Furthermore, an electrical connection to the electrical system, especially the high-voltage electrical system, of the carrier vehicle can be very helpful in order to connect the work equipment and, in particular, to supply the electrical drives of the work equipment with lower power requirements, i.e., the electric head motor of the work equipment.

[0075] Similarly, a hydraulic connection to the hydraulic system of the carrier vehicle can be helpful for the same reason, in order to supply hydraulically operated auxiliary drives, apart from the head drive of the work implement, with hydraulic energy.

[0076] To couple the control of the work equipment with the control of the carrier vehicle, a control connection to the drive control of the carrier vehicle on the carrier vehicle can be very helpful.

[0077] As can be seen from the description above, the work equipment can be configured differently and include different components, which can also be located in different positions and be designed differently, with the specific design of the work equipment depending on the application in question.

[0078] Therefore, it makes sense to provide a modular system that offers the different components, possibly in different configurations, and from which the specifically desired work equipment can be manufactured in a very large number of variants.

[0079] Such a modular kit includes, in its minimum configuration, - several types of working head, for example a mowing head on the one hand and a brush head, i.e. with a rotating brush, on the other hand, or mowing heads of different sizes or mowing heads that function according to different mowing principles (rotary mower versus blade shaft), - at least one type of fastening device for attaching the working head to a specific carrier vehicle, - at least one type, preferably several types, of an electric head motor, such as can be used for the different types of working heads and can differ in terms of power as well as internal design as well as coupling elements to the working head, i.e. on the output side of the head motor.

[0080] Preferably, the fastening device comprises a cantilever arm, as is known, to the outer end of which the working head is attached and which is held at its inner end on a fastening base that is part of the fastening device.

[0081] The modular system can also include several types of boom arms, which may differ from each other in particular with regard to their number of arm sections, boom length, load-bearing capacity of the boom arm or other factors.

[0082] Preferably, the kit also includes several of these mounting bases, for example with or without a transverse offset rail, for front or rear mounting and / or designed for different carrier vehicles.

[0083] The kit also preferably includes several types of electrical conductors, which may differ in terms of length or cross-section of the conductor, suitable for the respective head motor used and the type, in particular cantilever length, of the mounting device, and at the end facing away from the head motor also in terms of the type of coupling element depending on what the electrical conductor is to be connected to.

[0084] The modular system also preferably includes at least one type of electronic control system that controls at least all moving parts of the work equipment and can also communicate with any sensors that may be present.

[0085] The modular system preferably also includes several types of connection devices to connect the work equipment to the carrier vehicle with regard to power supply and data connection, in particular electrical, hydraulic and / or signal couplings.

[0086] Depending on how many different variants of the tool should be able to be produced from the modular system, it can be expanded: If the electrical supply of the electric head motor or other consumers of the work equipment is to be provided by electricity generated by the work equipment itself, the work equipment includes at least one type of generator, and then at least one type of mounting for attaching the generator, either to the work equipment or to a designated location on the carrier vehicle.

[0087] The same applies to the batteries that may be included in the kit, which may include several types in terms of size and capacity, and then several types of brackets are also needed to attach the batteries, either to the work equipment or to a designated position on the carrier vehicle.

[0088] The modular system preferably also includes one, or better yet several, types of movable, in particular rotatable, drive nozzle for mechanically, in particular positively, connecting a drive element driven by the carrier vehicle, in particular its drive motor, such as a power take-off shaft or a pulley.

[0089] Preferably, the modular system comprises at least one type of coupling element for the electrical lines, at least on the vehicle side, which includes couplings for hydraulic lines and / or electrical signal lines in addition to the coupling for the electrical line.

[0090] Furthermore, the modular system can comprise at least one type, preferably several types, of sensors that can be arranged on the working head or on the mounting device to detect forces / pressures / accelerations / vibrations and / or inclinations acting there and to report them to the control system. This also includes sensors that serve for non-contact, in particular optical, scanning of the area around the working head, especially the ground in the direction of travel in front of the working head, as well as the long-established mechanical, tactile sensors such as probes.

[0091] With regard to a method for operating the work vehicle with the work equipment attached to the carrier vehicle, this task is solved for the different work situations as follows: If the control system detects an increased power demand of the electric head motor, preferably if the control system detects this in advance, the control system increases the torque and / or speed of the head motor, preferably even before the increased power demand occurs, in particular by supplying additional energy from the battery in addition to the battery supplied by the generator.

[0092] The control system can thus briefly increase the power of the head motor beyond its continuous load up to the peak load, so that the speed of the cutter shaft can be kept essentially constant and thus also the mowing progress, i.e. the driving speed of the carrier vehicle.

[0093] The same applies if the speed of the head motor has decreased – preferably due to an increased load that has already occurred: In this case, the control system also supplies the head motor with additional energy, preferably from the buffer battery, until the speed of the head motor is again above a first limit value. c) Examples of implementation

[0094] Embodiments according to the invention are described in more detail below by way of example. The figures show: Fig. 1: the work equipment mounted on a carrier vehicle in use, Fig. 2: the object according to Fig. 1. Supervised from above, Fig. 2.1: a close-up from Fig. 2, Fig. 3: the subject of the Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 in side view, Fig. 3.1: a close-up from Fig. 3, Fig. 4: A schematic representation of a parallel hybrid drive.

[0095] The Fig. 1, Fig. 2 and Fig. Figure 3 shows a work device in the form of a mowing device 1 mounted on the front of a Unimog - behind whose driver's cab 106 there is a loading platform 105 - as a carrier vehicle 100.

[0096] As is known, the working head 2, in this case a mowing head 2, is arranged at the front, free end of a boom arm 9, which serves as a fastening device 3 of the mowing head 2 on the carrier vehicle 100.

[0097] For this purpose, the vehicle-side end of the boom arm 9 is attached to a slide 3c, which is movable in the transverse direction 11 to the longitudinal direction 10 of the carrier vehicle 100, i.e., usually its direction of travel 10, on a transverse offset rail 3b running in this transverse direction 11, which is arranged on the front of a mounting base 3a, which is arranged in front of the front of the carrier vehicle 100 and is attached to it.

[0098] The transverse offset rail 3b - specifically, two transverse offset guides arranged one above the other at a distance - extends essentially over the entire width of the front of the carrier vehicle 100 and preferably even slightly beyond.

[0099] The boom arm 9 is attached with its vehicle-side end to the top of the sled 3c and is rotatable about an upright axis relative to it.

[0100] The boom arm 9 consists, as is known, of several arm parts 9a to 9b, each connected to one another by at least one joint 15a to 15e, which can each be pivoted relative to one another about pivot axes running parallel to each other and transverse to the extension direction of these approximately rod-shaped arm parts 9a to 9d.

[0101] The pivoting and holding of the desired pivot position is effected by an actuating element 7a to 7d, previously usually a hydraulically operated working cylinder, which is eccentric to the respective pivot axis and engages with one end at each of the two arm parts that can pivot against each other, either directly or via an intermediate linkage.

[0102] One of the arm sections, in this case arm section 9b, can also be designed to be telescopic.

[0103] At the front end of this boom arm 9, the mowing head 2 is articulated in such a way that it can be adjusted in its inclination relative to its free end both about a pivot axis running parallel to the other pivot axes of the boom arm 9, and can also be rotated about an upright axis.

[0104] The boom arm 9 engages the mower head 2 with its foremost, outermost arm part 9a approximately in a transverse direction 11 in the middle in the rear area of ​​the mower head 2, the point of attack being movable in a transverse direction 11 along a transverse rail attached to the mower head 2.

[0105] In the depicted working position, the front view shows that the Fig. 1 considered - the boom arm 9 extends upwards and to the side from the sled 3c in an arched shape, so that the mowing head 2 is laterally offset to the carrier vehicle 100 and is located just above or resting on the ground in front of its front.

[0106] The mowing head 2 contains a rotating mowing element, in this case a cutter shaft, the axis of rotation of which runs along the extension direction of the mowing head 2 approximately in the transverse direction 11, and which is driven by a head motor 4, which is mounted on one of the lateral ends of the housing of the mowing head 2.

[0107] To supply energy to the head motor 4, energy lines 5 run from the mounting base 3a along the arm parts 9a to 9d of the boom arm 9 to the head motor 4, and are connected to one or more of the energy sources from which the energy required for both the head motor 4 and the actuating elements 7a to 7d is supplied.

[0108] In the known solutions, the head motor 4 was a hydraulically driven motor, and the energy lines 5 were hydraulic lines, with branches or separate lines also to the actuating elements 7a to 7d, which were hydraulic cylinders.

[0109] According to the invention, the head motor 4 is an electric motor and accordingly the energy lines 5 are electrical lines, in which Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3 simplified representation as a single electrical cable 5.

[0110] Optionally, the actuating elements 7a to 7d can also be electrically operated actuating elements, for example threaded spindle units as shown, in which a nut, not visible in the figures, which is received and rotatably mounted in a sleeve or cylinder, meshes with the threaded spindle and changes its axial extension length by rotation.

[0111] The electrical energy fed into cable 5 can originate from different energy sources, of which only one or more may be present in parallel and mounted or formed on the working device 1 or on the carrier vehicle 100.

[0112] One possibility exists - as in Fig. Figure 3.1 shows that the implement 1, here mower 1, has an electric generator 4' which is connected to the cable 5 at the vehicle-side end and generates the required electrical energy. The generator 4' is attached to the mounting base 3a by means of corresponding brackets 14 and is mechanically driven by a front power take-off shaft 101 as drive shaft 8. Self-propelled carrier vehicles such as a Unimog, but also a tractor, have a front power take-off (PTO) shaft 101 and / or rear PTO shaft 101, usually projecting forward or backward in a longitudinal direction 10, for the mechanical driving of attached work implements, both at the front and at the rear, which can be driven by the drive motor 102 of the carrier vehicle 100.

[0113] The generator 4' can be driven for power generation by mechanically coupling the drive shaft 16 of the generator 4' with the power take-off shaft 101, for example by means of a longitudinally displaceable coupling sleeve 17 - which has an inner circumferential profile extending in the longitudinal direction 10, which is designed at both ends so that it can be positively coupled by sliding onto the outer circumferential profile of the power take-off shaft 101 on the one hand and the outer circumferential profile of the drive shaft 16 on the other hand.

[0114] A second possibility is to provide the power partially, primarily or exclusively from a battery 6, for example from a correspondingly large supply battery 6a, which has such a capacity that the working device 1 can be supplied with energy for a specified period, for example a shift of 8 hours.

[0115] Such a supply battery 6a is usually so large that it either has to be placed on the loading platform 105 of the carrier vehicle 100 or is attached to the end of the carrier vehicle 100 opposite the working device 1, i.e. in the illustrated case at the rear of the carrier vehicle 100, as a counterweight to the carrier vehicle 100 and in any case of course must also be connected to the cable 5.

[0116] Instead of such a large supply battery 6a, a significantly smaller buffer battery 6b can also be provided, which is then preferably mounted on the mounting base 3a and thus does not form a separately manageable unit when attaching and detaching the work device 1, which has to be connected separately to the cable 5.

[0117] The generator 4' then preferably always supplies the current it generates to the buffer battery 6b, or can still be additionally connected directly to the cable 5, so that the buffer battery 6b - which is always kept charged - serves only to provide the currently required particularly high electrical power by supplying current to the head motor 4 in addition to the generator 4'.

[0118] Such peak power requirements can even be detected in advance and made available accordingly in good time by means of one or more sensors 21, which are attached, for example, to the mowing head 2 or the boom arm 9, and which detect the material to be cut lying in front of the mowing head in the direction of travel 10, from which the control system 20 of the work device 1 can recognize such high electrical powers that will soon be required and control the generator 4' and the rest of the electrical system of the work device 1 accordingly, if necessary even the speed at which the generator 4' is driven by the carrier vehicle 100.

[0119] Instead of being mounted on the mounting base 3a and driven via the power take-off shaft 101, such an electric generator 4' can also be housed in the engine compartment of the carrier vehicle 100 and driven there by the drive motor 102.

[0120] For this purpose, for example, at least one corresponding pulley 103 is provided, one of which is arranged non-rotatably with the drive motor 102, preferably on its side facing away from the gearbox 107, and another pulley 103 is arranged non-rotatably with the drive shaft 16 of the generator 4', both being coupled via a circulating, for example, toothed belt.

[0121] One alternative configuration for the drive motor 102 is to use an electric motor as the drive motor 102 of the carrier vehicle 100, and this drive motor 102 is also supplied by the then even larger supply battery 6a. In this case, all electrically operated components of the work device 1 are also supplied directly from this supply battery 6a, so that no generator 4' is required for the power supply of the work device 1.

[0122] Fig. Figure 4 represents in principle a parallel hybrid drive, which is also referred to as a power-split hybrid drive, as it can be present as a drive system in the carrier vehicle 100.

[0123] In this illustration, the two wheels 112 shown on the left, i.e., the wheels 112 assigned to axle 113, are driven.

[0124] The two driven wheels 112 do not need to be coupled via a continuous shaft; it is sufficient if each of the two wheels 112 is mechanically connected to the drive train.

[0125] In this arrangement, both the crankshaft of the internal combustion engine 102 and the motor shaft of the electric motor 109 are mechanically connected to the two driven wheels 112 via corresponding mechanical drive elements such as drive shafts. In the Fig.4 These drive elements are represented symbolically only by the two gears 114a and 114b, of which the first gear 114a is connected to the driven gears 112 and the second gear 114b is connected to the drive train in a rotationally fixed manner.

[0126] Between the combustion engine 102 and the electric motor 109, and operatively connected to both, is also a coupling gear 108, usually a planetary gear 108, which is also in mechanical operative connection with an electric generator 104' of the hybrid drive.

[0127] A power electronics unit 111 for the electrical part of the hybrid drive is connected via high-voltage cables and signal lines to the electric motor 109, to the generator 104 and also to the battery 110.

[0128] Depending on the current power requirement and the charge level of the battery 110, the power electronics 111 regulates what proportion of the torque required at the driven wheels 112 is provided by the combustion engine 102 on the one hand and by the electric motor 109 on the other.

[0129] Furthermore, the power electronics 111 regulates what proportion of the power supplied by the combustion engine 102 is made available via the second pinion 114b to the driven wheels 112 or to the generator 104', which - via the power electronics 111 - charges the battery 110 with the generated electric current.

[0130] In a hybrid drive formed from an electric motor 109 and an internal combustion engine 102, in particular a parallel hybrid drive, as a drive system for the carrier vehicle 100, its battery 110 can be used to supply power to the working device 1. REFERENCE MARK LIST 1 work tool, mower 2 Working head, mowing head 2a Head shaft, knife shaft 3. Fastening device 3a Mounting base 3b Cross-offset rail 3c sled 4-head engine 4' Energy converter, generator 5 Energy line, electrical line, cable 6. Energy source, battery 6a Supply battery 6b Buffer battery 7a - d Actuating element, threaded spindle 8 drive stubs 9 outrigger arm 9a - c Arm part 10 Direction of travel, longitudinal direction 11 Transverse direction 11' Transverse plane 12 verticals 13 Connection device 14 bracket 15a - e joint 16 Drive shaft 17 Coupling sleeve 20 Control 21 Sensor 100 carrier vehicles 101 PTO 102 Drive motor, internal combustion engine 103 Pulley 104, 104' On-board generator 105 loading area 106 Driver's cab 107 gearboxes 108 Coupling gear, planetary gear 109 Electric motor 110 drive battery 111 Power Electronics 112 wheel 113 Axle 114 a, b pinion

Claims

[1] Working vehicle comprising a carrier vehicle (100) and a powered working implement (1) attached thereto, in particular a mowing implement (1), with - a working head (2) comprising a driveable working element, - a fastening device (3), in particular comprising a boom arm (9), to the front, free end of which the working head (2) is attached, - a head motor (4), in particular with a continuous power output of over 10 kW, which is arranged on the working head (2), - an energy source (6) to provide a form of energy usable by the head motor (4), - Energy lines (5) which are connected to the head motor (4) on the one hand and the energy source (6) on the other hand for the energy supply to the head motor (4), - a control (20) which controls at least all moving elements of the working device (1), wherein - the head motor (4) is an electric motor (4), - the energy lines (5) electrical lines (5) are, characterized by , that - the energy source (6) is a supply battery (6a) with a capacity of at least 20 kWh, which is electrically connected to the head motor (4) and is also electrically connected to a generator (4'), wherein the supply battery (6a) and the generator (4') are arranged away from the mounting device (3) and the working head (2) supported by it, - wherein the supply battery (6a) - is attached to an end of the carrier vehicle (100) opposite the fastening device (3) and / or - is attached to a loading platform (105) of the carrier vehicle (100). [2] Work vehicle according to claim 1, characterized by , that - the working element is a rotating working element, in particular a head shaft (2a), such as a knife shaft (2a), and / or - the head motor (4) is arranged in alignment, in particular directly, on the head shaft (2a) and is connected to it in a rotationally fixed manner; and / or - the head motor (4) is connected to the head shaft (2a) via a belt drive or chain drive, and / or - the head motor (4) has liquid cooling. [3] Work vehicle according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the working device (1) comprises a movable, in particular rotatable, drive nozzle (8) which is mechanically connected to the generator (4') and is designed and arranged in such a way that it can be mechanically coupled to a drive element driven by the carrier vehicle (100), in particular a power take-off shaft (101). [4] Work vehicle according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by , that a generator (4') is present which - is arranged on the mounting device (3), in the case of a boom arm (9) on the mounting base (3a) for the boom arm (9), and in particular comprises a connection device (13), in particular a connection receptacle (13), for mounting on the front power take-off (101) or the rear power take-off (101) of the carrier vehicle (100) or for coupling with a separate motor that exclusively supplies power to the working device (1), - the generator (4') is arranged away from the mounting device (3) and the working head (2), in particular on the carrier vehicle (100) in the vicinity of its drive motor (102), in particular in the engine compartment, and is preferably operatively connected to the drive motor (102) via a circulating traction element such as a belt or chain. [5] Work vehicle according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the battery (6) which is electrically connected to the head motor (4) on the one hand - either a buffer battery (6b) has a capacity of at most 10 kWh, and is attached in particular to the mounting base (3a) for the boom arm (9), - or a supply battery (6a) with a capacity of at least 50 kWh. [6] Work vehicle according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the fastening device (3) - has a mounting base (3a) for attaching to the carrier vehicle (100) as well as - a transverse offset rail (3b) extending in the transverse direction (11), along which a carriage (3c) can be moved in a controlled manner, to which the working head (2) is attached, in particular by means of the boom arm (9). [7] Work vehicle according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by, that the fastening device (3), in particular its cantilever arm (9), which in particular consists of several arm parts (9a - d) articulated together, has several adjusting elements (7 a - d) which adjust the positions of the articulated arm parts (9a - d) relative to each other and the adjusting elements (7 a - d) - either hydraulic working cylinder units that have a hydraulic connection for connecting to and supplying through the on-board hydraulics of the carrier vehicle (100) or - the actuating elements (7 a - d) are electrical actuating elements (7 a - d) and in particular include electromagnets or electric motors which are supplied with electrical energy by the energy source (6). [8] Work vehicle according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by , that - the drive system of the carrier vehicle (100) includes at least one electric drive motor which is supplied with energy by a supply battery (6a) which also provides the energy for the working device (1). [9] Work vehicle according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by , that - the working device (1), in particular the working head (2), comprises sensors (21) which are able to calculate the amount of power required at present or in the near future by means of the control unit (20) of the head motor (4), and / or - the control unit (20) is able to automatically control the power of the head motor (4) as required. [10] Work vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the control (20) is able to switch the head motor (4) with respect to the direction of rotation, and the head motor (4) is designed accordingly for this purpose. [11] Work vehicle according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the work equipment (1) - comprising at least one first assembly to be mounted, comprising the mounting device (3), in particular rear attachment parts or front attachment parts, as well as the boom arm (9) attached thereto, the working head (2) and the generator (4') and / or the buffer battery (6b), which may be present, in particular attached to the mounting device (3). - in particular comprising a second assembly to be installed, comprising a battery (6), in particular a large supply battery (6a), as well as a charger and / or a central generator for charging the supply battery (6a). [12] Work vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the carrier vehicle (100) - a mechanical element driven in particular by the drive motor (102), in particular a front power take-off (101) and / or a rear power take-off (101) and / or a pulley (103), and / or - an electrical connection to its electrical system, in particular its high-voltage electrical system, and / or - a hydraulic connection to its hydraulic system, and / or - has a control connection to its drive control system. [13] Method for operating a work vehicle according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by, that the control (20) upon detecting an imminent, in particular within the next 10 seconds, preferably within the next 5 seconds, increased power demand of the electric head motor (4), especially in the form of heavy crop material, increases the torque of the head motor (4) even before the increased power demand occurs, in particular by supplying additional energy from the battery (6). [14] Method according to claim 13, characterized by , that if the rotational speed of the head motor (4) drops below a predetermined first limit value, the control (20) increases the power output of the head motor (4) by appropriately controlling the energy supply, until the rotational speed of the head motor (4) is again above the first limit value.

Images