Active Header Control for Combine Harvester Stability
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Combine harvesters face instability and inability to travel at high speeds with attached headers due to pitching issues caused by lack of suspension and high moment of inertia, leading to unsafe and inefficient field-to-field movement.
Innovation Solution
An active header control system utilizing hydraulic cylinders and sensors to counteract chassis pitch and roll movements, allowing for stabilization and higher speed travel with the header attached by adjusting hydraulic fluid flow through the cylinders based on real-time motion data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the combine harvester travels at high speed with the header attached, then productivity is improved, but the machine becomes unstable and unsteerable due to excessive pitching
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the dynamic parameters of the header by using active control to adjust the header position and orientation in real-time. The controller modifies the header's spatial parameters counter to chassis pitching motions, transforming the static heavy header into a dynamically adjustable component that maintains stability at high speeds.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs sensors to detect chassis pitching motions and feeds this information back to the controller, which then actuates the header control system to counteract the detected motions. This closed-loop feedback mechanism enables the header to actively compensate for pitching, maintaining machine stability even at high travel speeds with the header attached.
2Loss of time
If the combine harvester travels at high speed with the header attached, then time loss is reduced, but the machine becomes dangerous and impossible to control
Solution Approach 1:
The header control system is pre-configured and ready to operate before high-speed travel begins. The system maintains the header in an optimized position and has the control mechanisms pre-positioned to immediately counteract any pitching motions that occur during high-speed transit, ensuring both time efficiency and operational safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical suspension system with an active control system that uses sensors, controllers, and actuators to manage header stability. This substitution of mechanical passive suspension with an active control system enables high-speed travel while maintaining safety and controllability.
3Device complexity
If the combine harvester lacks suspension and has high moment of inertia with the header, then device complexity is reduced, but the machine cannot travel at high speeds without excessive pitching
Solution Approach 1:
The header control system utilizes hydraulic actuators to provide the necessary force for counteracting chassis pitching motions. This hydraulic system enables high-speed travel with the header attached by providing active force compensation, replacing the need for complex mechanical suspension while achieving the desired speed performance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables combine harvesters to travel at higher speeds with the header attached, improving safety and efficiency by stabilizing the machine and reducing the need to disengage the header during transit between fields.
Implementation Method 1
a hydraulic system including plural hydraulic cylinders coupled to the chassis and operative to cause movement of the implement
Implementation Method 2
one or more sensors, each configured to provide a signal based on a motion of the chassis
Data Source
AI summary
A combine harvester with a chassis, an implement coupled to the chassis, and a hydraulic system. The hydraulic system includes plural hydraulic cylinders coupled to the chassis and operative to cause movement of the implement, and a cylinder circuit coupled to the plural hydraulic cylinders. The cylinder circuit includes an actuable valve configured to enable hydraulic fluid flow through the plural hydraulic cylinders to enable the movement of the implement and a control system. The control system includes one or more sensors, each configured to provide a signal based on a motion of the chassis, and a controller configured to receive the signals from the one or more sensors and cause actuation of the actuable valve to cause the plural hydraulic cylinders to move the implement based on the signals to counter the motion of the chassis.