Agricultural Mower Overlap Control via Steering and Tongue Angles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing agricultural mowing systems face complexity and unreliability in adjusting lateral overlap between front and rear mowers, leading to uncut patches in fields, particularly due to the need for complex GPS-based control systems that increase computing power requirements and result in delayed adjustments.
Innovation Solution
An agricultural mowing system with a controller that uses a tongue actuator and sensors to pivot the second mower based on the steering angle and tongue angle, determining a correction angle to maintain a desired lateral overlap or underlap threshold, reducing system complexity and enabling real-time adjustments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If GPS-based control systems are used to adjust lateral overlap between mowers, then measurement precision of overlap position is improved, but device complexity and computing power requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential control function from complex GPS-based systems and implements it using only steering angle and tongue angle sensors. This removes unnecessary complexity while retaining the ability to measure and control lateral overlap position through geometric relationships rather than satellite positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using expensive and complex GPS hardware, the system creates a virtual model of the mower configuration based on simple angle measurements. The controller calculates overlap position by copying the geometric relationships between mowers using basic trigonometry on readily available sensor data.
2Measurement precision
If complex GPS-based control systems are used, then lateral overlap measurement precision is improved, but productivity decreases due to delayed adjustments
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors steering angle and tongue angle in real-time, maintaining an up-to-date geometric model of mower positions. This preliminary continuous measurement allows immediate calculation of overlap status without waiting for GPS updates, enabling real-time adjustments that maintain high productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/GPS-based positioning system with a computational geometry approach using simple angle sensors. This substitution eliminates the delays inherent in GPS signal processing and enables instantaneous calculation of lateral overlap based on current steering and tongue angles.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple sensors and complex control algorithms are used, then lateral overlap control precision is improved, but use of energy increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the parameters used for control from GPS coordinates requiring heavy computational processing to simple angular measurements. By working with steering angle and tongue angle directly, the controller achieves precise lateral overlap control through basic geometric calculations that consume minimal energy.
4Device complexity
If manual adjustment mechanisms are used, then device complexity is reduced, but ease of operation decreases due to difficulty in maintaining proper overlap
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides self-service automatic control of lateral overlap based on steering angle inputs. The controller continuously calculates the required tongue adjustment to maintain proper overlap and automatically actuates the tongue actuator, eliminating the need for operator intervention while keeping the physical mechanism simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous feedback by monitoring both steering angle and tongue angle, calculating actual lateral overlap, and comparing it to the desired overlap threshold. This feedback loop automatically adjusts the tongue position to maintain proper overlap, making operation easy without complex mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
An agricultural mowing system includes: a driving vehicle having a steerable axle and a pivotable tongue and defining a travel axis; a first mower coupled to the driving vehicle; a second mower coupled to the tongue; a tongue actuator configured to pivot the tongue; a tongue angle sensor configured to output signals corresponding to a tongue angle of the tongue; and a controller operatively coupled to the tongue actuator and the tongue angle sensor. The controller is configured to: determine a lateral overlap or underlap of the mowers exceeds a threshold value based at least partially on the tongue angle and a steering angle of the steerable axle; determine a correction angle needed for the tongue to pivot such that the lateral overlap or underlap no longer exceeds the threshold value; and output a correction signal to the tongue actuator to pivot the tongue by the correction angle.