Center-Pivot Mower Turn Compensation for Cut Overlap Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing agricultural mower systems face difficulties in efficiently controlling the mower during turns, leading to issues with underlap or overlap of cut crop material due to the offset configuration and the need for manual adjustment by the user.
Innovation Solution
An agricultural mower system with a controller that determines a turn compensation amount for the mower angle based on the change in towing angle and a constant, using sensors to adjust the mower angle actuator, ensuring efficient cutting of crop material during turns without the need for external data sources or user anticipation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the mower is configured with an offset centerline relative to the towing vehicle, then the mower can be coupled to the towing vehicle by a pivotable tongue for flexibility, but it becomes difficult to control the mower during turns to minimize underlap or overlap of cut crop material
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses sensors to detect the towing vehicle's turning motion and automatically adjusts the mower angle via an actuator, eliminating the need for manual user intervention. The mower self-corrects its position during turns to maintain optimal cutting alignment, resolving the control difficulty while preserving the offset coupling flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs sensors to continuously monitor the towing vehicle's orientation and turning angle, feeding this information back to a controller that automatically adjusts the mower angle. This closed-loop feedback mechanism enables precise mower control during turns without requiring user anticipation or manual adjustment.
2Ease of operation
If manual adjustment of the mower angle during turns is required, then the mower can be controlled, but user fatigue increases and efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The automated system performs the mower angle adjustment function that would otherwise require continuous manual user intervention. By detecting turns automatically and actuating the mower to the correct angle, the system eliminates user fatigue and the time loss associated with manual adjustments during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces manual mechanical adjustment with an automated electromechanical system consisting of sensors, a controller, and an actuator. This substitution eliminates the need for user physical intervention and anticipation, reducing both fatigue and time loss while maintaining precise mower control.
3Ease of operation
If automatic turn compensation is implemented using sensors and controllers, then mower control during turns is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces complex manual control operations with a relatively simple automated subsystem consisting of a turning angle sensor, a controller, and a mower angle actuator. While this adds components, it eliminates the need for complex user skill and manual coordination, achieving automatic control with a straightforward sensor-actuator architecture.
Data Source
AI summary
An agricultural mower system includes: a towing vehicle including an engine and a tongue coupler and defining a towing centerline; a mower including a frame carrying cutters and pivotably coupled to a tongue that is pivotably coupled to the tongue coupler, the frame defining a mower centerline that is offset from the towing centerline, the tongue defining a towing angle with respect to the towing centerline and a mower angle with respect to the mower centerline; a mower angle actuator coupled to the tongue and the frame; and a controller configured to: determine the towing angle has changed by a change amount relative to a defined towing angle; determine a turn compensation amount for the mower angle as a function of the change amount and a constant; and output a compensation signal to cause the mower angle actuator to adjust the mower angle by the determined turn compensation amount.