Agricultural Suspension Control for Orientation Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-clearance agricultural sprayers face challenges with uneven terrain, leading to potential damage from ground surface irregularities, loss of traction, and operator fatigue due to the need for low speeds to maintain stability.
Innovation Solution
A suspension system utilizing vehicle sensors, such as speed and turn angle sensors, and an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), to dynamically adjust pistons and suspension components, ensuring desired ride characteristics and maintaining optimal machine orientation, thereby preventing damage and improving operational efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the agricultural machine travels at low speeds to maintain stability on uneven terrain, then the machine can avoid damage from ground surface irregularities and maintain stability, but the productivity and operational efficiency decrease significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The suspension system dynamically adjusts the height of each wheel independently in real-time based on terrain conditions detected by sensors. The system transitions from a static fixed-height configuration to a dynamic adaptive configuration, allowing the machine to maintain stability at higher speeds by actively compensating for terrain variations through continuous suspension adjustments.
2Productivity
If laterally extending sprayer booms are used to increase coverage area, then the productivity improves, but the risk of boom contact with ground surface irregularities increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs sensors to continuously monitor the position and orientation of the sprayer booms relative to the ground surface. When potential contact is detected, the control system sends feedback signals to adjust the suspension height of affected wheels, raising the booms to prevent contact. This closed-loop feedback mechanism enables the machine to safely operate with extended booms over uneven terrain.
3Measurement precision
If the suspension system uses complex sensor arrays and electronic control components, then the orientation control precision improves, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The suspension system integrates multiple functions into a unified control platform that processes data from various sensors (speed, position, orientation) and coordinates adjustments across all four wheels simultaneously. This multi-functional integration reduces the need for separate dedicated systems for each function, thereby managing complexity while maintaining high precision control through centralized electronic control units.
Data Source
AI summary
One or more vehicle sensors can be used in a suspension control system of an agricultural machine to dynamically adjust pistons located proximal to wheels of the machine to substantially control orientation. Such vehicle sensors could include: a speed sensor configured to provide an output indicating a speed of the machine; a turn angle sensor configured to provide an output indicating a turn angle of the machine; and/or an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) configured to detect a chassis-to-horizon angle. The output can be compared to a threshold for determining when to control valves in the suspension system to apply height corrections.