Tractor Plow Depth Control via Wheel Slip Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Soil cultivation devices, such as plows, face challenges with traction issues on difficult soils, especially when using larger tractors, leading to excessive wheel slip and difficulties in maintaining consistent working depth, particularly during headland cuts.
Innovation Solution
A soil cultivation device with a depth control system that coordinates the adjustment of the tractor's lower links and chassis height to maintain a consistent working depth, using wheel slip and tractive force sensors to automatically adjust the height and reduce wheel slip, and incorporating a pretensioning device to optimize weight distribution and torque control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If larger and more powerful tractors are used to achieve higher area performance with multi-share plough designs, then productivity increases, but wheel slip increases excessively on difficult and damp soils
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic adjustment of plough working depth based on real-time wheel slip detection. When wheel slip exceeds a threshold, the system automatically reduces working depth to minimize energy loss while maintaining productivity. This dynamic response allows the plough to adapt to varying soil conditions without requiring larger tractors.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses wheel slip sensors to provide feedback to the control unit, which then adjusts the plough depth accordingly. This closed-loop control enables the system to maintain optimal operating conditions by continuously monitoring wheel slip and making real-time adjustments to working depth, resolving the contradiction between productivity and energy loss.
2Productivity
If plough working depth is increased to improve tillage efficiency, then productivity increases, but lateral pull on the tractor increases, requiring counter-steering and further increasing wheel slip
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts working depth in response to detected lateral pull forces. When excessive lateral pull is detected, the control unit automatically reduces plough depth to minimize the force requirement, thereby reducing the need for counter-steering and associated wheel slip while maintaining adequate tillage efficiency.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If only the lower link arms of the tractor are raised to reduce working depth on wet soil, then traction problems are partially alleviated, but the plow tilts around the chassis and rear plowshares get even deeper into the ground
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the adjustment of lower link height and chassis height into a coordinated system controlled by a single control unit. This ensures that both adjustments work together to achieve uniform working depth reduction across all plowshares, preventing the tilting effect that occurs when only lower links are adjusted. The merged control system maintains working depth consistency while alleviating traction problems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses depth sensors to monitor working depth at multiple points and provides feedback to the control unit. This enables real-time coordination of lower link and chassis height adjustments to maintain uniform working depth across all plowshares, preventing the tilting effect and ensuring consistent depth control during traction problem mitigation.
4Manufacturing precision
If plow wheel drive is added to support the plow on the ground, then working depth control improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The plow wheel drive system is designed to be self-regulating, using the plow's own weight and the terrain to maintain working depth. The drive mechanism automatically adjusts to maintain consistent depth without requiring complex external control systems, thereby improving working depth control while minimizing the increase in device complexity.
Data Source
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Figure 3(a)~3(b)
AI summary
The present invention relates to a tillage implement, in particular a plow, with a mounting device for attachment to the lower links of a tractor and a chassis for supporting the tillage implement on the ground, wherein the working depth of the tillage implement is adjustable by means of chassis height adjustment devices for adjusting the height of the chassis and lower link height adjustment devices for adjusting the height of the lower links. According to the invention, a depth control device is provided for automatically controlling the chassis and lower link height adjustment devices depending on wheel slip and/or a tractive force exerted by the tractor on the tillage implement and is designed such that, if a threshold value for wheel slip and/or for the tractive force is exceeded, the working depth is reduced uniformly for the front and rear sections of the tillage implement by simultaneously adjusting the chassis and the lower links.