Combine harvester

Abstract

To eliminate useless fuel consumption by automatically and properly adjusting the output of an engine even when a threshing clutch lever is turned on / off in a combine harvester for harvesting grains.SOLUTION: This combine harvester is characterized by disposing a means for changing outputs between an eco-mode control L2 in which the fuel supply of an engine 15 is set to a rated normal power and a power-mode control L1 in which the fuel supply is increased from the rated power to exhibit a high power, disposing a thresher clutch sensor 41 for detecting the operation of a thresher clutch lever 14 for turning on / off the drive of a thresher 4, and controlling the outputs of the engine in the eco-mode control L2 when the thresher clutch sensor 41 detects the off-state and in the power-mode control L1 when the thresher clutch sensor 41 detects the on-state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to engine output control of a combine harvester that cuts stalks in a field to harvest grain. [Background technology]

[0002] Combine harvesters harvest stalks while traveling through the field, then use a thresher mounted on the machine to separate the grain from the stalks and store it in a grain tank. Because combine harvesters use a single engine to drive both the traveling gear and the thresher, the load on the engine increases each time the traveling gear and thresher are driven, requiring engine output adjustments.

[0003] For this reason, in the combine described in JP 2002-101738 A, a threshing clutch lever that turns on and off the drive of the threshing device and a speed control lever that increases and decreases the engine rotation are linked, and the speed control lever is moved in conjunction with the on / off of the threshing clutch lever to control the engine output to respond to load fluctuations. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-101738 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the conventional combine harvesters described above, when the threshing clutch lever is turned on, the engine output becomes the output required to drive the threshing device, allowing harvesting work to begin without any problems. However, when the threshing clutch lever is turned off, the speed control lever is returned to the set position and the engine output is reduced to the output before the threshing device was driven. However, when the combine is to be stopped, the speed control lever must be operated further to the deceleration side to put the engine into idling rotation, making the operation of adjusting the engine output cumbersome.

[0006] To provide a combine harvester for harvesting grains that automatically and appropriately adjusts engine output even when a threshing clutch lever is turned on or off, thereby eliminating unnecessary fuel consumption. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The above-mentioned object of the present invention is achieved by the following technical means.

[0008] The invention of claim 1 is a combine harvester characterized by having an output change means for switching between eco mode control L2, which sets the fuel supply to the engine 15 at rated output and normal output, and power mode control L1, which increases the fuel supply beyond the rated output to produce high output, and a threshing clutch sensor 41 which detects the operation of the threshing clutch lever 14, which turns the drive of the threshing device 4 on and off, and having engine output control which switches to eco mode control L2 when the threshing clutch sensor 41 detects that it is off, and to power mode control L1 when it is on.

[0009] The invention of claim 2 is a combine harvester as described in claim 1, characterized in that the power mode control L1 is not immediately switched on when the threshing switch 41 is turned on, but is switched on when the engine load rate continues for a predetermined period of time.

[0010] The invention of claim 3 is the combine harvester according to claim 1, characterized in that even if the power mode control is L1, the control is changed to the eco mode control L2 when the engine load factor decreases for a predetermined period of time.

[0011] The invention of claim 4 is the combine harvester according to claim 1, characterized in that the engine speed is set to idling speed when the main speed change lever 17 is kept in the neutral position for a predetermined time. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] In the invention of claim 1, when the threshing switch 41 is turned on by operating the threshing clutch lever 14 that drives the threshing device 4, the power mode control L1 is activated, the engine output becomes high, and even when the threshing device 4 is driven and harvesting work begins, the engine 15 can withstand the increased load and start harvesting work, and when the threshing switch 41 is turned off, the eco mode control L2 is activated and the engine 15 is driven with rated fuel supply, resulting in low fuel consumption.In addition, since fuel supply starts from idling rotation in both the power mode control L1 and the eco mode control L2, when switching to the power mode control L1 or the eco mode control L2, the engine 15 will be idling rotation and fuel consumption will not increase.

[0013] In the invention of claim 2, even if the threshing clutch lever 14 is turned on, the power mode control L1 is not immediately switched on, but the threshing device 44 is actually driven and it is confirmed that the engine load rate has increased for a predetermined period of time before the power mode control L1 is switched on, thereby preventing a sudden increase in fuel supply and reducing fuel consumption of the engine 15.

[0014] In the invention of claim 3, even if the power mode control L1 remains in effect, when the threshing device 4 is actually stopped and the engine load factor decreases, the fuel-efficient eco mode control L2 is switched on, thereby making the engine 15 more fuel-efficient.

[0015] In the invention of claim 4, when the main speed change lever 17 is in the neutral position and the vehicle is stopped, no load is applied to the engine 15, so the engine 15 is allowed to idle and consume the minimum amount of fuel, thereby reducing the fuel consumption of the engine 15. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view of a combine harvester according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the threshing device of the combine harvester. [Figure 5]FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of a control unit. [Figure 6] This is an output timing table for the threshing switch, grain tank lamp, grain tank switch, and warning horn 44. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a detailed control block diagram of a control unit and an engine. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a front view of the display panel of the control panel. [Figure 9] 1 is a table showing engine output modes. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is a conventional output mode switching block diagram. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an output mode switching circuit according to the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a control flowchart for switching output modes. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0018] As shown in Figures 1 to 3, a multi-purpose combine harvester has a traveling device 2 consisting of a pair of left and right crawlers that travels on the soil surface, mounted on the underside of a machine frame 1, a pre-harvesting device 3 that harvests and cuts stalks in the field, mounted on the front of the machine frame 1, a thresher 4 that threshers and sorts the harvested stalks, mounted on the rear left side of the pre-harvesting device 3, and a control unit 5 on which an operator sits, mounted on the rear right side of the pre-harvesting device 3. A solar panel 60 is mounted on the top surface of a cabin 59 surrounding the control unit 5, and electricity generated from sunlight is used to charge a battery.

[0019] An engine room 6 housing an engine 15 is provided below the control unit 5, a grain tank 7 for storing threshed and sorted grain is provided behind the control unit 5, and a discharge auger 8 for discharging the grain to the outside is provided behind the grain tank 7 and can be raised and lowered.

[0020] The pre-harvesting processing device 3 is composed of a conveying device 3A that transports the stalks in the field to the rear while standing them up, a cutting blade device 3B that cuts the base of the stalks transported to the rear lower part of the conveying device 3A, an auger device 3C that collects the stalks transported to the rear side of the conveying device 3A into a feeder house 3D on the left side, and a feeder house 3D that transports the collected stalks to a threshing device 4.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 4, the threshing device 4 is formed of a threshing chamber 10 for threshing stalks and a sorting chamber 20 for sorting the threshed grains.

[0022] A threshing drum 11 for threshing the stalks transported from the feeder house 3D is supported on the front and rear walls of the threshing chamber 10 by a rotating shaft 30, and a receiving net 12 formed in a semicircular arc shape is provided on the underside of the threshing drum 11 along the lower outer periphery of the threshing drum 11. The upper part of the threshing drum 11 is covered with an openable threshing drum cover 13 (Fig. 3), and a dust conveying plate (not shown) for guiding the stalks to the rear of the threshing chamber 10 is provided on the inner periphery of the threshing drum cover 13.

[0023] An oscillating sorting device 21 is provided above the sorting chamber 20 to sort grains leaking from the handling chamber 10. The lower part of the oscillating sorting device 21 is provided, in this order from the front, with a winnower 25 that blows sorting air into the oscillating sorting device 21, a wind divider 26 that changes the blowing direction of the sorting air behind the winnower 25, a first spiral 27 that transports grains leaking from the oscillating sorting device 21 to the grain tank 7, and a second spiral 28 that re-transports grains with rachis branches and the like attached that leak from the rear of the oscillating sorting device 21 to the sorting shelf at the front of the oscillating sorting device 21.

[0024] The threshing drum 11 is attached to a rotary shaft 30 that is rotatably supported on the front and rear walls of the threshing chamber 10, and is composed of an impeller 31 and a rotor 32 whose front part is shaped like a truncated cone.

[0025] The threshing device 44 has the driving force from the engine 15 connected and disconnected by turning on and off the threshing clutch lever 14, and the on / off state of the threshing clutch lever 14 is detected by a threshing switch 41.

[0026] Figure 5 is a block diagram of the automatic control of a multi-purpose combine harvester. Signals from the alternator charge signal 36, fuel sensor 37, grain tank full sensor 38, threshing rotation sensor (number 2) 39, engine oil switch 40, and threshing switch 41 are input to the control unit 35. Engine ECU 45, which controls the engine 15, inputs engine speed, coolant temperature, overheat signal, and engine abnormality message via CAN communication 46. The control unit 35 then outputs a horn 48, engine stop signal 49, and a fault diagnosis history 50 for the engine and the machine, which is read via a microcomputer checker 42, as well as a flashing signal to the grain tank lamp 51. The fault diagnosis history 50 simultaneously stores the hour meter information when the fault first occurred and the abnormality code obtained via CAN communication 46. Furthermore, the engine speed and engine load information when the threshing rotation sensor (number 2) 39 slows down are also simultaneously stored.

[0027] For example, when the threshing switch 41 is on and the grain tank full sensor 38 is on for more than one second, causing the grain tank 7 to become full, the horn output 48 will intermittently sound "beep, beep, beep" to notify the operator.

[0028] Furthermore, when the threshing switch 41 is on and the threshing rotation sensor (No. 2) 39 detects clogging due to a decrease in rotation of the No. 2 spiral 28, the horn 48 outputs an intermittent sound inversely proportional to the rotation speed, but does not issue an engine stop output 49. However, if the rotation speed drops further below a predetermined low speed, the engine stop output 49 is issued.

[0029] Figure 7 is a detailed block diagram of the CAN communication 46 between the control unit 35 and the engine ECU 45. The engine ECU 45 sends engine fault signals, engine speed, and engine coolant temperature to the control unit 35, and in the event of a high-urgency fault such as engine output restriction or speed restriction, a signal is output to the fault lamp 43 and warning horn 44, and the fault information is read by the microcomputer checker 42 and displayed on a PC. In addition, the on / off information of the check mode switch 47 is also sent to the control unit 35, and when the switch 47 is pressed, the circuit is diagnosed and, if a fault is detected, a signal is output to the warning horn 44. Figure 6 is an output timing chart of the threshing switch 41, grain tank lamp 51, grain tank switch, and warning horn 44.

[0030] Figure 8 shows the display panel 52 on the front panel of the control unit 5, which includes an engine tachometer 53, a water temperature gauge 54, left and right turn direction indicators 55 and 56, an engine overheat warning light 57, an engine warning light 59, a fuel gauge 58, and an air blockage warning light 60. The engine warning light 59 has a flashing pattern determined by the cause of the fault. Multiple faults are indicated by a 3-second interval between flashing. Errors are classified as major, medium, and minor, and are displayed in order of least frequent flashing (major, medium, and minor). The engine overheat warning light 57 lights up and sounds the horn 44, but does not sound if the engine is operating at a light load of 25% or less. However, the horn 44 sounds if the water temperature does not drop within one minute. The air blockage warning light 60 lights up when the air cleaner is clogged, and sounds the horn 44 if the clog is detected for 10 seconds or more.

[0031] Figure 9 is an output graph showing the engine output, and has an eco mode control L2 that provides normal output with rated fuel supply and a power mode control L1 that provides high output by increasing the fuel supply beyond the rated level. In the normal configuration, the on / off signal of the threshing switch 41 is sent to the engine ECU 45 via a signal line 54 as shown in Figure 10 to switch modes.

[0032] Figure 11 shows automatic control of mode switching by sending a switching signal from the control unit 35 of this machine to the engine ECU 45. The control unit 35 receives the on / off signal of the threshing switch 41, the speed change signal 56 of the main speed change lever 17, and the eco mode signal 55, and then the eco mode switch 53 in the control unit 35 sends the eco mode signal 54 to the engine ECU 45 or sends a switching signal via CAN communication. The control unit 35 is equipped with an eco mode lamp 57 that lights up when in eco mode.

[0033] 12 is a flowchart of automatic control of mode switching by the control unit 35. When the eco mode is turned on in step S0, the on / off status of the threshing switch 41 is determined in step S1. If it is on, the engine load rate is determined in step S2. If it is 90% or less, swing output is performed in step S3. If it is 90% or more, swing is prohibited and no swing is performed in step S4. If the threshing switch 41 is turned off or the load rate remains below 70% for 5 seconds, swing is performed in step S5. Also, if the threshing switch 41 is off in step S1, the eco mode is executed in step S6, and if the main speed change lever is in neutral for 3 seconds or more in step S7, the engine is put into idling rotation in step S8, and if the main speed change lever is not in neutral, the process returns to the eco mode on in step S0. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] L1 Power Mode Control L2 Eco Mode Control 14 Threshing clutch lever 15 Engine 17 Main gear shift lever 41 Threshing Switch 4. Threshing equipment

Claims

1. The combine harvester is provided with an output change means for switching between an eco mode control (L2) that sets the fuel supply of the engine (15) at rated output for normal output and a power mode control (L1) that increases the fuel supply beyond the rated output to achieve high output, a threshing clutch sensor (41) that detects the operation of a threshing clutch lever (14) that turns the drive of the threshing device (4) on and off, and an engine output control that switches to eco mode control (L2) when the threshing clutch sensor (41) detects that it is off, and switches to power mode control (L1) when it is on.

2. A combine harvester as described in claim 1, characterized in that when the threshing switch (41) is turned on, the power mode control (L1) is not immediately switched to, but the power mode control (L1) is switched to when the engine load rate continues for a predetermined period of time.

3. 2. The combine harvester according to claim 1, wherein even if the power mode control (L1) is in operation, the control is changed to the eco mode control (L2) when the engine load factor decreases for a predetermined period of time.

4. 2. The combine harvester according to claim 1, wherein the engine speed is set to idling speed when the main speed change lever (17) is kept in the neutral position for a predetermined time.

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