Harvester Controller Using Fleet Data for Safe Ground Speed
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Solution Overview
Problem
In a fleet of agricultural harvesters, the varying ground speeds of individual machines can lead to undesirable scenarios such as collision or loss of formation, as they operate under automatic feed rate control, causing some to pull up alongside or overtake others, which is inefficient and poses safety risks.
Innovation Solution
A controller that receives crop flow sensor data and fleet operational parameters to determine and adjust the ground speed of each harvester, ensuring safe distances are maintained between machines, optimizing harvesting performance while preventing collisions and maintaining formation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If each harvester operates under automatic feed rate control with independent ground speed optimization, then harvesting performance is optimized, but collision risk increases and fleet formation is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges individual harvester control with fleet-level coordination by having each harvester's controller receive and process fleet data from other harvesters. This combines independent optimization with collective safety management, allowing harvesters to maintain optimal speeds while avoiding collisions through shared situational awareness and coordinated speed adjustments.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback loops where each harvester's controller continuously receives real-time data from fleet members and adjusts ground speed accordingly. This feedback mechanism allows harvesters to respond to changing fleet conditions, maintaining both individual performance and collective safety by dynamically adjusting speeds based on relative positions and speeds of neighboring harvesters.
2Productivity
If harvesters maintain longitudinal displacement for grain cart access, then unloading efficiency improves, but fleet coordination complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making fleet formation and spacing adjustable rather than fixed. Harvesters can dynamically modify their longitudinal displacement from one another based on real-time conditions such as grain cart availability, field layout, and harvest rate. This dynamic adjustment allows the fleet to optimize unloading efficiency while adapting to changing operational requirements without rigid structural constraints.
3Productivity
If harvesters operate at different ground speeds for optimization, then feed rate efficiency improves, but formation stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes parameters by allowing ground speed to vary within a controlled range rather than maintaining a fixed value. Each harvester can adjust its speed parameter based on feed rate optimization needs while the controller ensures these changes maintain formation stability through coordinated adjustment and safety constraints. This parameter flexibility enables efficient feed rate variation without compromising overall fleet formation.
Data Source
AI summary
A controller for an agricultural harvester in a fleet of agricultural harvesters is configured to receive crop flow sensor output data from a plurality of on-board harvester sensors, and determine a current value of each of one or more harvesting performance parameters depending on the received crop flow sensor output data. The controller is configured to receive fleet data indicative of one or more operational parameters of at least one further agricultural harvester in the fleet. The controller is configured to determine a ground speed for the agricultural harvester depending on the current value of the one or more harvesting performance parameters relative to respective target values and the received fleet data. The controller is configured to generate an output signal in dependence on the determined ground speed.