Harvester-Trailer Speed Coordination for Accurate Crop Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Simultaneously controlling the agricultural harvester and the vehicle towing the trailer for crop transfer is challenging, leading to potential crop spillage and safety hazards, even with existing camera-based automatic systems.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize sensors to determine parameters such as vehicle and harvester positions, crop cloud dynamics, and exclusion zones to control the vehicle's speed, ensuring synchronized movement and accurate crop transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If manual control of crop transfer is used, then operator flexibility is maintained, but crop spillage occurs and operator workload is high
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service control where the harvester automatically determines and controls the vehicle speed based on sensor data about crop cloud parameters, eliminating the need for manual coordination while reducing crop spillage and operator workload
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from sensors monitoring crop cloud parameters (wind speed, direction, crop velocity) to automatically adjust vehicle speed, creating a closed-loop control system that minimizes crop spillage without requiring manual intervention
2Manufacturing precision
If synchronized vehicle-harvester control is implemented, then crop transfer accuracy improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges the control functions of the harvester and vehicle into a unified control system where the harvester's control unit automatically determines and communicates speed adjustments to the vehicle, simplifying the overall system architecture while improving synchronization accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The harvester's control system is designed with multi-functionality, serving both as the harvesting operation controller and the vehicle speed coordination controller, which reduces the number of separate control systems needed while maintaining high synchronization accuracy
3Reliability
If exclusion zone is implemented, then collision safety improves, but operational flexibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The exclusion zone is dynamically adjusted based on real-time sensor data about crop cloud parameters and vehicle position, allowing the safety zone to adapt to changing conditions while maintaining collision prevention and operational flexibility
Data Source
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AI summary
A method of controlling a crop transfer process for transferring crop (40) from an agricultural harvester (10) to a nearby trailer (30) towed by a vehicle (20), the method comprising: determining at least one parameter relating to the vehicle (20) and/or the harvester (10), and in dependence on the or each determined parameter of the vehicle (20) and/or the harvester (10), determining a desired speed of the vehicle (20); and sending a control signal from the harvester (10) to the vehicle (20) to control the speed of the vehicle (20) in accordance with the desired speed.