Harvester Intake Device Control During Turning
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for operating self-propelled harvesting machines, such as forage harvesters, can lead to critical machine situations like engine stalling and clogging due to crop residues being drawn into the intake device during speed reduction, resulting in fuel inefficiency and potential harvest losses.
Innovation Solution
A method where the intake device is automatically switched off before initiating speed reduction of the internal combustion engine when leaving a crop stand, ensuring crops are not drawn in, and the attachment remains operational at a low speed to prevent accidents and maintain efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the engine speed is automatically reduced during temporary exit from the crop stand, then fuel consumption is reduced and wear is reduced, but crop material in the intake device can cause the engine to stall and lead to blockage
Solution Approach 1:
The intake device is switched off before the engine speed reduction is initiated during exit from the crop stand. This preliminary action prevents crop material remaining in the intake device from being drawn in when the engine speed is reduced, thereby avoiding engine stalling and blockage while still achieving fuel savings.
2Use of energy by moving object
If the header and intake device speeds are reduced during turning maneuvers, then fuel efficiency is improved, but harvest losses occur when transport vehicle is not positioned beneath the harvesting machine
Solution Approach 1:
The system determines the position of the transport vehicle before initiating speed reduction during turning maneuvers. If the transport vehicle is not positioned beneath the harvesting machine, the speed reduction is delayed or prevented, ensuring that harvested crop is properly transferred and avoiding harvest losses while maintaining fuel efficiency when conditions are appropriate.
3Reliability
If the intake device is switched off before engine speed reduction, then engine stalling is prevented, but additional control complexity is introduced
Solution Approach 1:
The control of the intake device switching is merged with the existing engine speed control system. The same control device that manages engine speed reduction also controls the intake device switching, coordinating both actions through a unified control logic that determines when to switch off the intake device based on the same positional and operational parameters used for speed reduction.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The present invention relates to a method for operating a self-propelled harvesting machine (1) from which, by means of a header (5), crop material (4) is picked up while driving through a stand (3) in a field (2) to be harvested and fed to a downstream intake device (6), wherein during a harvesting operation the stand (3) is temporarily left, in particular to carry out a turning operation (WV) to re-enter the stand (3), wherein when temporarily leaving the stand (3) an internal combustion engine (18) serving at least to drive the header (5) and intake device (6) is automatically controlled to reduce its speed for the duration of the temporary leaving of the stand (3), wherein when leaving the stand (3) the intake device (6) is automatically switched off before the speed reduction of the internal combustion engine (18) is initiated, while the header (5) remains switched on.