Agricultural hitch with a system for management and guidance of operations and a method thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10524406-B2
Application number	US-201615299629-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 21, 2016
Priority date	Nov 3, 2015
Publication date	Jan 7, 2020
Grant date	Jan 7, 2020

Abstract

An agricultural hitch with a system for management and guidance of maneuvers and a method employed by the hitch is provided. The hitch includes a tractor, an agricultural machine hitched by an articulated linkage, and a system for management and guidance of maneuvers, provided with a computing and control unit. The computing and control unit or of the hitched agricultural machine constitutes the master unit of the system for management and guidance of maneuvers, and is adapted to compute a set path for a maneuver to come, by employing an algorithm for prediction of paths and an algorithm for optimization of path settings, and to automatically execute the maneuver or of assisting in semiautomatic execution of the maneuver by steering the tractor and by recording, during maneuvering, the differences between the predefined set path and the real or currently estimated path.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A hitch comprising:
a tractor;
a towed or semi-carried agricultural machine hitched to the tractor by an articulated linkage; and
a system for management and guidance of maneuvers including
a computing and control unit integrated with the agricultural machine,
a first sensor informing about current mutual relative positions of the tractor and the agricultural machine connected to one another by the articulated linkage,
a unit for management and control of the tractor,
an interface for communication with a driver, and
a unit for parameter assignment or programming,

wherein the computing and control unit constitutes a master unit of the system for management and guidance of maneuvers,
wherein the system for management and guidance of maneuvers is configured to:
compute a set path for a maneuver to come, initiated automatically or by the driver, the set path being based on preprogrammed parameters relating to characteristics and physical variables of the tractor and of the agricultural machine, at least one of objectives or constraints related to agricultural work to be executed, ground to be treated, or operating options of the hitch, and an algorithm for prediction of paths and an algorithm for optimization of path settings, and
automatically execute the maneuver by steering the tractor, directly or by the unit for management and control of the tractor, and record, during maneuvering, differences between a predefined set path and a real or currently estimated path, in order to correct the differences automatically, or assist in semiautomatic execution of the maneuver by signaling the differences to the driver in semiautomatic mode by way of an adapted algorithm, of maneuvers for corrections of a path to be followed,
wherein a parameter for computing the set path includes a turning angle of steered wheels of the tractor based on a wheelbase of the tractor and a turning radius of the tractor which is then corrected by taking interactions with soil into account, and the corrected turning angle of the steered wheels of the tractor is used to calculate transitional entrance and exit phases of the tractor, the interactions with the soil including a drift angle created on the steered wheels due to resistance of the soil on both sides of the steered wheels, and
wherein the transitional entrance and exit phases of the tractor are calculated by

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Assignees

• Kuhn Sa

Inventors

• Potier Philippe
• Yatskul Andrii
• Lemiere Jean-Pierre

Classifications

• B62D13/00

  Steering specially adapted for trailers (combined traction and steering hitches B60D) · CPC title

• A01B69/004 Primary

  automatic · CPC title

• A01B59/002

  Details, component parts · CPC title

• A01B69/003

  Steering or guiding of machines or implements pushed or pulled by or mounted on agricultural vehicles such as tractors, e.g. by lateral shifting of the towing connection · CPC title

• A01B79/005

  Precision agriculture · CPC title