Agricultural raking system and method for automatic settings

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12336455-B2
Application number	US-202117318626-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 12, 2021
Priority date	May 15, 2020
Publication date	Jun 24, 2025
Grant date	Jun 24, 2025

Abstract

A system includes an agricultural raking vehicle, including a motor drive and raking members mechanically coupled to the motor drive. The raking members rake agricultural product via rotation about an axis substantially orthogonal to a field on which the agricultural vehicle travels. The system also includes a sensor assembly that outputs a signal indicative of a determined windrow quality of the agricultural product raked by the raking members. The system also includes a controller communicatively coupled to the motor drive and to the sensor assembly. The controller receives the signal and controls an angular speed of the motor drive, a ground speed of the agricultural vehicle, and/or a height of the raking members or tines above the field, based on a comparison of the determined windrow quality to a target windrow quality.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An agricultural raking system, comprising:
an agricultural raking vehicle, comprising:
a motor drive;
a plurality of raking members mechanically coupled to the motor drive and configured to rake agricultural product via rotation about an axis substantially orthogonal to a field on which the agricultural raking vehicle travels, and wherein each raking member of the plurality of raking members comprises a plurality of tines; and
a sensor assembly comprising:
a first sensor configured to output a first signal indicative of a first profile of the agricultural product forward of the agricultural raking vehicle; and
a second sensor configured to output a second signal indicative of a second profile of a windrow of the agricultural product formed by the agricultural raking vehicle; and

a controller communicatively coupled to the motor drive and to the sensor assembly, the controller comprising a memory and a processor and configured to:
receive the first signal and the second signal;
determine a determined windrow quality by comparing the first profile to the second profile; and
control an angular speed of the motor drive, a ground speed of the agricultural raking vehicle, a height of the plurality of raking members above the field, or a combination thereof, based on a comparison of the determined windrow quality to a target windrow quality.

2. The agricultural raking system of claim 1 , wherein the agricultural raking vehicle comprises a vertical actuator communicatively coupled to the controller, wherein the controller is configured to control the vertical actuator to adjust the height of the plurality of raking members.

3. The agricultural raking system of claim 1 , wherein the first sensor comprises a first ultrasonic sensor communicatively coupled to the controller the second sensor comprises a second ultrasonic sensor communicatively coupled to the controller, or a combination thereof.

4. The agricultural raking system of claim 1 , wherein the motor drive is positioned above or below a chassis of the agricultural raking vehicle.

5. The agricultural raking system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
receive an indication of a target threshold value indicative of the target windrow quality; and
adjust the angular speed of the motor drive, the ground speed of the agricultural raking vehicle, the height of the plurality of tines, or a combination thereof, until the determined windrow quality is within the target threshold value.

6. The agricultural raking system of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of raking members extend radially outward from the motor drive along a radial direction substantially parallel to the field.

7. The agricultural raking system of claim 6 , wherein each raking member of the plurality of raking members is rotatable about the radial direction to adjust the height of the tines relative to the field.

8. The agricultural raking system of claim 1 , further comprising a work vehicle configured to haul the agricultural raking vehicle and communicatively coupled to the controller, wherein the controller is configured to control the ground speed of the agricultural raking vehicle by actuating a throttle of the work vehicle.

9. The agricultural raking system of claim 1 , further comprising a deflector configured to receive and direct a least a portion of the agricultural product from the plurality of raking members toward a region of the field to form a windrow.

10. The agricultural raking system of claim 1 , wherein the agricultural raking vehicle comprises a shield configured to block debris from contacting a portion of the agricultural raking vehicle, and the plurality of tines of each raking member of the plurality of raking members is positioned radially outward from the shield.

11. A method for performing raking operations, comprising:
receiving a map of a field on which an agricultural raking system operates;
receiving a signal from a sensor assembly associated with the agricultural raking system;
in response to receiving the signal:
controlling a first component of the agricultural raking system to adjust a rotational speed of a plurality of raking members based on a target windrow quality, wherein the plurality of raking members are mechanically coupled to the first component and are configured to direct agricultural product toward a deflector of the agricultural raking system;
controlling a second component of the agricultural raking system to adjust a ground speed of the agricultural raking system based on the target windrow quality; and
controlling a third component of the agricultural raking system to control a height of a plurality of tines relative to a ground based on the target windrow quality, wherein each raking member of the plurality of raking members comprises the plurality of tines; and

actuating the first component, the second component, or a combination thereof, based on the map of the field.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first component comprises a motor drive configured to control the rotational speed of the plurality of raking members, the second component comprises a throttle of the agricultural raking system, and the third component comprises a wheel height actuator, a rotor height actuator, a raking member actuator, or a combination thereof.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the agricultural raking system comprises an agricultural raking vehicle and a work vehicle, wherein the work vehicle is configured to haul the agricultural raking vehicle.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the target windrow quality is based on an indication of a windrow size, an indication of a cross-sectional area of the windrow, an indication of a density of agricultural product in the windrow, or a combination thereof.

15. A method for performing raking operations, comprising:
receiving, via a controller comprising a memory and a processor, a first signal from a first sensor and a second signal from a second sensor, wherein the first sensor is configured to output the first signal indicative of a first profile of agricultural product forward of an agricultural raking vehicle, the second sensor is configured to output the second signal indicative of a second profile of a windrow of the agricultural product formed by the agricultural raking vehicle, the agricultural raking vehicle comprises a motor drive and a plurality of raking members mechanically coupled to the motor drive, the plurality of raking members is configured to rake the agricultural product via rotation about an axis substantially orthogonal to a field on which the agricultural raking vehicle travels, and each raking member of the plurality of raking members comprises a plurality of tines;
determining, via the controller, a determined windrow quality by comparing the first profile to the second profile; and
controlling, via the controller, an angular speed of the motor drive, a ground speed of the agricultural raking vehicle, a height of the plurality of raking members above the field, or a combination thereof, based on a comparison of the determined windrow quality to a target windrow quality.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein controlling the height of the plurality of raking members comprises controlling a vertical actuator of the agricultural raking vehicle.

17. The method of claim 15 , comprising:
receiving, via the controller, an indication of a target threshold value indicative of the target windrow quality; and
adjusting, via the controller, the angular speed of the motor drive, the ground

Assignees

• Cnh Ind America Llc

Inventors

• Roberge Martin J
• Dechristopher David M

Classifications

• A01D84/00

  Haymakers not provided for in a single one of groups A01D76/00 - A01D82/00 · CPC title

• A01D78/001

  Side-delivery rakes (A01D78/04 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A01B79/005

  Precision agriculture · CPC title

• A01D78/1057

  Drive mechanisms · CPC title

• A01D78/1071 Primary

  Having only one rotor · CPC title