Agricultural Machine Emergency Stop Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Self-propelled agricultural machines face challenges in quickly stopping both the machine and its working unit without unnecessary time loss, especially when encountering obstacles, which increases the risk of damage or injury, as existing solutions require separate interventions and are not efficient in emergency situations.
Innovation Solution
A control element, such as a driving lever or brake pedal, is used to detect emergency movements by assessing speed or pressure changes, allowing the machine to transition the working unit to an inactive state quickly, ensuring both the machine and working unit can be stopped simultaneously, with the option to set a customizable speed threshold for reliable emergency detection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If the driver uses separate interventions to stop the machine and working unit, then the machine and working unit can be stopped independently, but the stopping time increases and the risk of foreign material intrusion increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the control functions for the machine's travel movement and the working unit into a single control element. When the control element is actuated, it simultaneously triggers both the travel movement control and the working unit control, ensuring they stop together without requiring separate driver interventions. This merging eliminates the time delay between stopping the machine and stopping the working unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The control element is equipped with sensors that detect its actuation state and provide feedback signals to both the travel movement control and working unit control systems. This feedback mechanism ensures that both systems receive the stop command simultaneously and execute the stopping action in coordination, preventing foreign material intrusion by ensuring the working unit stops before the machine moves into a hazardous position.
2Ease of operation
If a control lever is used for speed control, then the driving speed can be adjusted, but in emergency situations the driver must change grip to trigger emergency stop, causing time loss
Solution Approach 1:
The control element is designed as a multi-functional device that serves both normal speed control purposes and emergency stop functions. The same control element that the driver uses for routine speed adjustment is also capable of triggering an emergency stop when actuated with sufficient force or in a specific manner, eliminating the need for a separate emergency stop mechanism and reducing response time in critical situations.
Solution Approach 2:
The control element incorporates dynamic characteristics that allow it to differentiate between normal adjustment inputs and emergency stop inputs. The element can detect the speed or force of actuation and respond accordingly - providing gradual speed control for normal operation but triggering an immediate emergency stop when actuated beyond a certain threshold, enabling the driver to use the same element for both purposes without time loss.
Data Source
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AI summary
The self-propelled agricultural machine has a traction drive, and a control element (36) for controlling driving speed. The control element is movable by a driver, where working devices are provided. The machine determines, whether a detected movement of the control element is a regular control movement or an emergency movement and transfers the working device into the inactive condition, if an emergency movement is detected. An independent claim is included for an escorting vehicle for a machine.