Harvesting Attachment Height Adjustment for Soil-Adaptive Tine Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Agricultural harvesting machines face challenges in adjusting the distance between tines and the ground to optimize crop collection while minimizing soil and contaminant intake, especially when soil conditions change unexpectedly, leading to inefficiencies and potential machine damage.
Innovation Solution
A harvesting attachment height adjustment system with sensors, actuators, and an electronic control unit that dynamically adjusts the tine height based on real-time soil conditions and operator input, using feedback from support wheels and tine wear monitoring to maintain optimal separation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the tines are set low to gather more crop, then crop collection efficiency is improved, but soil and contaminant intake increases and machine wear increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pickup apparatus is equipped with an automatic height adjustment system that dynamically changes the tine height relative to the ground based on real-time soil condition sensing. The system transitions from a static fixed-height design to a dynamic adaptive design, allowing the tines to automatically lower on firm ground for maximum crop collection and raise on soft ground to prevent contamination and machine damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates sensors that continuously monitor ground conditions and provide feedback to the control system. This feedback loop enables the automatic adjustment mechanism to respond to changing soil conditions, maintaining optimal tine height without manual intervention. The control system processes sensor data and actuates the height adjustment mechanism accordingly.
2Productivity
If the tines are set low to gather more crop, then crop collection efficiency is improved, but machine wear and damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts tine height based on ground conditions, preventing the tines from operating too low on soft ground where they would suffer excessive wear or damage. The automatic adjustment protects vulnerable components while maintaining high productivity on suitable ground.
Solution Approach 2:
The pickup apparatus monitors its own operating conditions through integrated sensors and automatically adjusts its height to protect itself from damage. The system serves itself by detecting unfavorable conditions and autonomously preventing wear or damage without operator intervention.
3Adaptability or versatility
If manual adjustment is used to adapt to soil conditions, then adaptability is improved, but operation time and complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs the adaptation function automatically without requiring operator intervention. The sensor-controlled adjustment mechanism monitors ground conditions and self-adjusts the pickup height, eliminating the need for operators to stop, exit the vehicle, manually adjust settings, and return to operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The continuous feedback from ground condition sensors enables real-time automatic adaptation to changing soil conditions throughout the field. The system responds immediately to detected changes, maintaining optimal performance without manual intervention or loss of operational time.
4Productivity
If the pickup is set for firm ground, then crop collection is optimized, but performance deteriorates on soft ground
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains crop collection optimization across varying ground conditions by dynamically adjusting pickup height. On firm ground, the tines operate at optimal low height for maximum collection. On soft ground, the system automatically raises the tines to appropriate heights, preventing contamination while maintaining effective crop gathering.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the critical parameter of pickup height in response to ground condition variations. By adjusting this parameter automatically based on sensor feedback, the system maintains optimal performance across diverse soil conditions without requiring manual reconfiguration or sacrificing adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
A harvesting attachment comprises a rotor having tines for processing of cut crop and a support wheel to each side of the harvesting attachment for supporting the harvesting attachment. A height adjustment system comprises to each side of the harvesting attachment a height adjustment actuator, a sensor adapted to detect and generate signals representative of a separation between the rotor and a ground surface and an electronic control unit in communication with each sensor. The electronic control unit is adapted to receive signals from each sensor indicative of the separation between the rotor and the ground surface, to interpret the signals from the sensors indicative of the separation between the rotor and the ground surface in line with a height adjustment strategy and to generate signals to actuate each height adjustment actuator in line with the height adjustment strategy.