Shaft arrangement for yield measurement in forage harvesters; as well as forage harvesters and methods for determining a harvest quantity

Abstract

The invention relates to a shaft arrangement (1) for conveying crop material, comprising a first shaft section (3) and / or a second shaft section (5) which can be coupled to a drive device (2), and a working section (6) arranged between the shaft sections (3, 5) or at least adjoining the first shaft section (3), wherein the working section (6) has at least one blade (7) used to convey crop material, and wherein a first torque sensor (8) is attached to the first shaft section (3) and / or a second torque sensor (9) is attached to the second shaft section (5). The invention also relates to a forage harvester (10) having this shaft arrangement (1) and to a method for determining a harvest yield of the forage harvester (10).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a shaft arrangement for conveying crop material, which is preferably designed as an ejection accelerator, with an input-side / first shaft section that can be coupled to a drive device, and an output-side / second shaft section, preferably prepared for coupling to another unit, and a working section arranged between the shaft sections or at least adjoining the first shaft section, wherein the working section has at least one blade (also referred to as a paddle or lamella) serving to convey the crop material. The invention further relates to a forage harvester with such a shaft arrangement and to a method for determining a harvest yield of the forage harvester using the shaft arrangement.

[0002] Forage harvesters of this type are already known from the prior art. For example, DE 10 2011 082 727 A1 discloses a forage harvester with a system for measuring crop throughput. A sensor is arranged between a drive shaft and the discharge accelerator to measure the force transmitted from the drive shaft to the discharge accelerator.

[0003] DE 10 2011 082 727 A1 shows a forage harvester with a system for measuring crop throughput. It discloses an internal combustion engine connected to a drive shaft via a belt. The drive shaft is connected to a grain processor. A sensor is arranged between the drive shaft and an ejection accelerator. Another harvester of this type is shown in DE 10 2012 017 149 A1.

[0004] Furthermore, systems are known in principle that operate with a type of impact plate. This plate measures the corresponding force with which the crop is ultimately thrown against the plate / generated by the impact. A high force equates to a high harvest yield, and conversely, a lower force equates to a lower harvest yield. However, these systems can quickly lead to inaccuracies in the harvest yield measurement, which can only be compensated for by relatively frequent calibration.

[0005] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a shaft arrangement by means of which the harvested quantity can be determined more precisely, while at the same time significantly reducing the frequency of necessary calibrations.

[0006] This is achieved according to the invention in that a first torque sensor is mounted on the first shaft section and a second torque sensor is mounted on the second shaft section. Preferably, the shaft arrangement is equipped with a first torque sensor mounted on the input-side shaft section and a second torque sensor mounted on the output-side shaft section.

[0007] By providing a torque sensor, or even two torque sensors, a torque loss at the working section of the shaft assembly, i.e., the section conveying the crop, can be determined with great precision during operation by calculating the torque or the difference between an input torque and an output torque. This allows a precise conclusion to be drawn about the actual harvested quantity. The accuracy of harvest quantity measurement is thus significantly increased.

[0008] Further advantageous embodiments are claimed in the subclaims and explained in more detail below.

[0009] Accordingly, the invention further relates to a forage harvester comprising a chopper drum, an ejection accelerator arranged downstream of the chopper drum with respect to the crop flow direction, and optionally a grain processor (preferably arranged between the chopper drum and the ejection accelerator with respect to the crop flow direction). The ejection accelerator comprises a shaft arrangement according to the invention as described above. The output-side shaft section is preferably coupled to the grain processor.

[0010] In this context, it is further advantageous if at least one torque sensor or both torque sensors are coupled to a (common) control device. This further simplifies the corresponding calculation.

[0011] Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for determining a harvest quantity of the previously designed forage harvester by means of a shaft arrangement according to the invention according to the previously described embodiment, wherein during operation of the forage harvester an input torque is measured by means of the first torque sensor and an output torque is measured by means of the second torque sensor (preferably simultaneously) and wherein in a computing unit of a central control unit (preferably by means of the difference between input torque and output torque) an energy consumption (of the working section) correlating with the harvest quantity is calculated, from which the harvest quantity is ultimately determined.

[0012] The calculation will be as precise as possible if, in particular, a previously measured input pulse of an accelerator pedal of the forage harvester and / or a previously measured output pulse of this accelerator pedal and / or a width of a working area of the forage harvester and / or a speed of the forage harvester are / will be taken into account when calculating the harvest quantity.

[0013] Thus, the invention also generally relates to a method for determining a harvest quantity by using a torque of a machine / equipment / commercial vehicle (such as a forage harvester) harvesting the harvest quantity, preferably on a shaft accelerating or decelerating a crop.

[0014] The invention will now be explained in more detail below with reference to figures.

[0015] They show: Fig. 1 a perspective view of a shaft arrangement according to the invention according to a preferred embodiment, Fig. 2 a side view of a forage harvester having the shaft arrangement according to Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 a plan view of an arrangement consisting of the shaft arrangement of the Fig. 1, a chopper drum, a grain processor and a drive device driving these components for installation in the forage harvester of the Fig. 2.

[0016] The figures are merely schematic in nature and therefore serve solely to clarify the invention. The same elements are designated by the same reference numerals.

[0017] In Fig. Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a shaft assembly 1 according to the invention, which will be explained in more detail below. In this embodiment, the shaft assembly 1 is designed as a so-called discharge accelerator 12, which serves to accelerate / convey a crop flow generated during harvesting in a forage harvester 10.

[0018] In its preferred application, the shaft assembly 1 is arranged in a forage harvester 10 of the Fig. 2 integrated drive arrangement 18.

[0019] Which in turn in Fig. The drive arrangement 18 shown schematically in Figure 3 has a drive device 2 on the drive side / input side, which is designed in the usual way as an internal combustion engine (alternatively, other drive types are of course also possible).

[0020] A torque generated by the drive device 2 is distributed during operation to various units via a transmission device 19, which in this embodiment has both gear stages 20 and belt drives 21 and 22.

[0021] A first unit is implemented as a simplified chopping drum 11. This chopping drum 11 is driven by a (in Fig. 2) harvesting device 23. The harvesting device 23 defines a working area 17 of the forage harvester 10 in the usual way, whereby the (set) width 16 of the working area 17 in Fig. 2 is measured into the drawing plane.

[0022] The discharge accelerator 12 is provided as a second unit with / in the form of the shaft assembly 1. The discharge accelerator 12 is arranged behind the chopper drum 11, viewed in the direction of harvest flow (here also in the direction of travel of the forage harvester 10). In this embodiment, the chopper drum 11 and the discharge accelerator 12 are connected / driven to the drive device 2 by means of the first belt drive 21.

[0023] Furthermore, a third unit is provided, designated by reference numeral 4. This third unit is preferably designed as a grain processor 13. The grain processor 13 is again arranged between the chopper drum 11 and the discharge accelerator 12, viewed in the harvest flow direction. It can be seen that the grain processor 13 is coupled to a drive shaft 24 of the discharge accelerator 12 via the second belt drive 22. The drive shaft 24 represents that component of the discharge accelerator 12 which, in turn, is further coupled to the drive device 2 via the first belt drive 21.

[0024] In this regard, the detailed structure and functioning of the shaft arrangement 1, which forms the ejection accelerator 12, will now be discussed in more detail. Fig. 1 and Fig. 3 that the shaft assembly 1 has an input-side shaft section 3, which is arranged on the side of the drive device 2, namely, is further connected to the drive device 2 via the first belt drive 21. Furthermore, the shaft assembly 1 has an output-side shaft section 5, which is connected to the grain processor 13 in a torque-transmitting manner via the said second belt drive 22.

[0025] It can be seen that the shaft sections 3 and 5 are designed as a one-piece component of the continuous / one-piece drive shaft 24.

[0026] A working section 6 is formed along the drive shaft 24 between the input-side shaft section 3 and the output-side shaft section 5. The working section 6 has Fig. 1 has a plurality of circumferentially distributed blades 7, which are used directly for further conveying the crop. The blades 7 are torque-tightly connected to the drive shaft 24. In the usual way, the blades 7 are attached to the drive shaft 24 by means of a plurality of disc elements 25.

[0027] According to the invention, a first torque sensor 8 is mounted on the input-side shaft section 3, i.e., along a torque transmission path formed during operation, in front of the working section 6. A second torque sensor 9 is mounted on the output-side shaft section 5, downstream of the working section 6 along the torque transmission path. The two torque sensors 8, 9 are thus fastened to the drive shaft 24, in front of and behind the working section 6, respectively. By measuring the torque using the torque sensors 8, 9, a torque loss / power loss / energy loss of the working section 6 can be calculated (by their difference). The drop in torque is directly caused by the acceleration of the crop by the working section 6. The two torque sensors 8, 9 are connected by means of a Fig.3 is connected to a central control device 14 by a dashed line connection.

[0028] The control device 14 is ultimately designed to implement a method according to the invention for determining a harvest yield of the forage harvester 10. In this method, an input torque (of the ejection accelerator 12) is measured / detected by the first torque sensor 8 during operation of the forage harvester 10 by means of the shaft assembly 1, and simultaneously an output torque (of the ejection accelerator 12) is measured / detected by the second torque sensor 9. In particular, a time profile of these input and output torques is recorded. This data is then subsequently transmitted to a computing unit of the central control unit 14, and the difference between the input torque and the output torque is calculated in this computing unit. From this, in turn, a correlating harvest yield is calculated, since this is related to this difference / energy consumption.Thus, the total harvest quantity produced by the forage harvester 10 can ultimately be determined.

[0029] It is customary for the control device 14 to also receive an input pulse from an accelerator pedal 15 of the forage harvester 10 and an output pulse from the accelerator pedal 15 to determine the harvest yield. A width 16 of the working area 17 of the forage harvester 10 is also provided to the control device 14, as is a current driving speed of the forage harvester 10. This allows the harvest yield to be determined as precisely as possible.

[0030] In other words, the invention utilizes the same principle used in a forage harvester: the more material it has to accelerate, the harder it becomes to rotate the accelerator (discharge accelerator). This torque is measured.

[0031] The forage harvester 10 typically has a drive motor (e.g., an internal combustion engine) that generates the necessary torque, which in turn is transmitted, for example, via an angular gear (including gear mechanism 19) to a drive belt (first belt drive 21); this transmits the torque, among other things, to the accelerator. The shaft (drive shaft 24) of the accelerator has two functions: first, driving the accelerator / its working section 6 and second, transmitting the torque to the grain processor 13.

[0032] The differences compared to the state of the art lie primarily in the fact that the input torque is measured with the first sensor (first torque sensor 8) and the output torque with the second sensor (second torque sensor 9). Subtracting the output torque from the input torque yields the torque consumed in the accelerator. This torque is directly proportional to the amount of crop being transported / harvested.

[0033] If you know additional information, such as driving speed and working width, you can calculate the yield per hectare. List of reference symbols 1 shaft arrangement 2 drive device 3 input-side shaft section 4 aggregate 5 output shaft section 6 Work section 7 shovels 8 first torque sensor 9 second torque sensor 10 forage harvesters 11 Chopper drum 12 ejection accelerators 13 grain processor 14 Control device 15 Accelerator pedal 16 width 17 Workspace 18 Drive arrangement 19 Gearbox device 20 gear stage 21 first belt drive 22 second belt drive 23 harvesters 24 Drive shaft 25 disc element

Claims

[1] Shaft arrangement (1) for conveying crops, comprising a first shaft section (3) and a second shaft section (5) which can be coupled to a drive device (2), and a working section (6) arranged between the shaft sections (3, 5) or at least adjoining the first shaft section (3), wherein the working section (6) has at least one blade (7) serving to convey the crops, characterized by that a first torque sensor (8) is attached to the first shaft section (3) and a second torque sensor (9) is attached to the second shaft section (5). [2] Field chopper (10) with a chopper drum (11) and an ejection accelerator (12) arranged downstream of the chopper drum (11) with respect to a crop flow direction, wherein the ejection accelerator (12) has a shaft arrangement (1) according to claim 1. [3] Field chopper (10) according to claim 2, characterized bythat the at least one torque sensor (8, 9) is coupled to a control device (14). [4] Method for determining a harvest quantity of a forage harvester (10) by means of a shaft arrangement (1) according to claim 1, wherein during operation of the forage harvester (10) an input torque is measured by means of the first torque sensor (8) and an output torque is measured by means of the second torque sensor (9), and wherein in a computing unit of a central control device (14) an energy consumption correlating with the harvest quantity is calculated, from which the harvest quantity is ultimately determined.

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