Pre-optimizing Agricultural Implement Working Height

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Solution Overview

Problem

Optimizing agricultural work processes is challenging due to the difficulty in finding settings for machine parameters that balance fuel efficiency, performance, costs, and work quality, particularly for field operations like plowing and harvesting, where the working height is a critical but complex and cost-intensive parameter to determine.

Innovation Solution

A sensor-based system that determines the absolute working height of various agricultural attachments, combining optimization goals and data to suggest optimized working heights and other machine parameter settings, using modular sensors and optimization maps to improve field cultivation efficiency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If multiple sensors are installed on each attachment to determine working height, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveworking height measurementVSAvoidsensor arrangement
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

A single sensor unit is designed to measure the working height of multiple different attachments by being mounted on each attachment in turn. The sensor serves universal purposes across different agricultural implements, eliminating the need for multiple dedicated sensors while maintaining measurement capability for various attachment types.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The sensor is removed from one attachment and transferred to another attachment for measurement. This reusable approach allows the same sensor to be 'discarded' from one context and 'recovered' for use in a different attachment, reducing the total number of sensors needed while maintaining continuous measurement capability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #34Discarding and recovering

2Productivity

If working height is precisely determined for each attachment, then optimization of field cultivation is improved, but time consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefield cultivation efficiencyVSAvoidoptimization time
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary measurements of working height for multiple attachments before the actual field cultivation work begins. By pre-determining the optimized working heights and storing them in the optimization data set, the system eliminates the need for time-consuming real-time adjustments during field operations, allowing for rapid deployment with pre-optimized parameters.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Measurement precision

If comprehensive optimization data is collected for all machine parameters, then optimization accuracy is improved, but data processing complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveoptimization data accuracyVSAvoiddata processing system
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The optimization data is segmented into distinct categories: attachment-specific data (including working height measurements), machine-specific data, and environmental data. This segmentation allows the system to process and manage complex optimization data in organized modules, reducing the cognitive and computational load while maintaining comprehensive accuracy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP4133923B1Method for pre-optimizing agricultural working operations for agricultural vehicle combinations
Publication Date: 2024.10.16 CLAAS TRACTOR
  • EP4133923B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4133923B1 patent drawingFigure 2~2d

AI summary

The invention relates to a method for the pre-optimization of agricultural work processes for agricultural implements (7), wherein a sensor arrangement (8) is provided for determining an absolute working height (9) of the agricultural implements (3), wherein the agricultural implement (7) has a implement control arrangement (11), wherein the sensor arrangement (8) has a sensor (12) for determining measurement data relating to the absolute working height (9), wherein the implement control arrangement (11) controls and/or regulates machine parameters of the respective agricultural implement (7) during the work process based on an optimization data set and the measurement data, wherein an optimization control arrangement (16) is provided which, in an optimization routine before the work process is carried out, determines the optimization data set from competing optimization goals, optimization data remote from the implement and optimization data relating to the implement (7).It is proposed that the sensor arrangement (8) is set up to determine the absolute working height (9) of several different implements (3) using the same sensor (12) and that the optimization data set includes a proposal for a working height (9) of the implement (3) optimized with respect to the optimization objectives and/or proposals for settings of other machine parameters of the agricultural vehicle combination (7) that depend on a set working height (9) and are optimized with respect to the optimization objectives.