Agricultural harvester
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current agricultural harvesting machines with driver assistance systems focus primarily on optimizing cutting unit parameters within the cutting unit itself, leading to complexity and increased driver stress, without comprehensive control over the entire harvesting process.
Innovation Solution
An automatic cutting unit integrated with a driver assistance system that autonomously determines cutting mechanism parameters based on user-selected harvesting process strategies, using a functional system model that adapts to the current harvesting process state, allowing for cyclic and recursive adjustments to optimize cutting unit performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the driver assistance system optimizes cutting unit parameters based on crop flow sensor data, then cutting unit performance is improved, but the system lacks comprehensive control over downstream processes and driver workload remains high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the control of cutting unit parameters with downstream process parameters into a single integrated driver assistance system. The computing device simultaneously determines both cutting unit parameters (reel speed, cutter bar height, cutting frequency) and downstream process parameters (threshing drum speed, separator speed, cleaner fan speed) based on crop flow sensor data, consolidating multiple control functions into one unified system that improves overall harvesting efficiency while reducing driver workload.
Solution Approach 2:
The driver assistance system is designed with multi-functionality to control diverse components across the entire harvesting machine. A single computing device manages parameters for the cutting unit, threshing unit, separation unit, and cleaning unit, making the system universal in its control capabilities. This allows the system to adapt to varying crop conditions and optimize the performance of multiple subsystems simultaneously, reducing the need for separate control mechanisms.
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple cutting unit parameters are adjusted for optimal harvesting, then harvesting quality is improved, but the complexity of parameter adjustment increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The driver assistance system operates autonomously to determine optimal values for multiple cutting unit parameters without requiring manual adjustment by the operator. The computing device automatically processes crop flow sensor data and calculates appropriate settings for reel speed, cutter bar height, cutting frequency, and other parameters, allowing the system to self-regulate and maintain optimal harvesting quality while eliminating the complexity of manual parameter tuning.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors crop flow conditions through sensors and uses this feedback to dynamically adjust cutting unit parameters. The computing device receives real-time data from crop flow sensors and automatically modifies parameter settings to maintain optimal harvesting quality, creating a closed-loop control system that adapts to changing conditions without requiring manual intervention or complex adjustment procedures.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to an agricultural harvesting machine with a header (2) designed as a header for cutting and picking up crops and with a driver assistance system (4) for controlling the header (2), the driver assistance system (4) having a memory (5) for storing Data and a computing device (6) for processing the data stored in the memory (5). It is proposed that the cutting unit (2) together with the driver assistance system (4) form an automatic cutting unit (8), in that a plurality of selectable harvesting process strategies (5a) are stored in the memory (5) and in that the computing device (6) is set up to to autonomously determine at least one machine parameter - cutting unit parameters (2a-f) - and to specify the cutting unit (2) for implementing the selected harvesting process strategy (5a) or the selected harvesting process strategies (5a).