Tractor Drive Release Control With Driver-Intent Gear Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing agricultural tractors with driver assistance systems lack safety measures to prevent sudden vehicle movements when driver interventions are made by the system, compromising driver control and safety.
Innovation Solution
An arrangement with a dual control path system, including a transmission control for engaging gears via a clutch device and a monitoring device to ensure driver intent is verified before engaging gears, using electrical switching elements and semiconductor logic to prevent unexpected tractor movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a driver assistance system automatically intervenes in the drive system to increase work efficiency, then productivity is improved, but the driver may lose control and sudden vehicle movements may occur compromising safety
Solution Approach 1:
A monitoring device is introduced as an intermediary between the transmission control and the driver's driving control elements. This mediator verifies whether the driver's actuation state corresponds to the intended gear engagement, preventing automatic intervention when the driver does not intend to move the vehicle. The monitoring device acts as a safety barrier that maintains driver control while allowing automated transmission functions to operate during actual driving.
2Productivity
If the transmission control engages gear based on automated signals without verification, then productivity is improved, but sudden unexpected vehicle movement may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring device performs preliminary verification of the driver's actuation state before the transmission control engages the gear. By checking the driving control elements (clutch pedal, direction lever) in advance, the system determines whether gear engagement corresponds to the driver's actual intention. This preliminary action prevents harmful sudden movements while enabling automated transmission control during legitimate driving operations.
3Reliability
If multiple driving control elements are monitored to verify driver intent, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring device utilizes the existing driving control elements (clutch pedal, direction lever) that are already part of the tractor's standard operation. By monitoring these universal control elements that the driver must manipulate during normal driving, the system achieves comprehensive safety verification without adding dedicated monitoring hardware for each control element. The same control elements serve both their primary function of vehicle operation and the secondary function of safety verification.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
Arrangement (24) for releasing a drive system (10) of an agricultural tractor (14), comprising a transmission control (26) for engaging a driving stage by controlling at least one associated clutch device (28) and a monitoring device (38) which releases the engagement of the driving stage by the transmission control (26) only when it concludes, based on the actuation state of at least one driving control element (40, 42), that a corresponding driver request exists.