Combine Harvester

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016286722-A1
Application number	US-201615084736-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 30, 2016
Priority date	Apr 2, 2015
Publication date	Oct 6, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A combine harvester has a threshing unit for threshing picked-up crop to obtain grain and a driver assistance system for controlling the threshing unit. The driver assistance system includes a memory for storing data and a computing unit for processing the data stored in the memory. The threshing unit, together with the driver assistance system, forms an automated threshing unit, in that a plurality of selectable harvesting-process strategies is stored in the memory and in that, in order to implement the particular selected harvesting-process strategy, the computing device autonomously determines at least one machine parameter, for example, a threshing-unit parameter, and specifies the parameter to the threshing unit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A combine harvester, comprising:
a threshing unit for threshing picked-up crop to obtain grain; and a driver assistance system for controlling the threshing unit ( 1 ), wherein the driver assistance system comprises a memory for storing data and a computing unit for processing the data stored in the memory; wherein the threshing unit, together with the driver assistance system, forms an automated threshing unit; wherein a plurality of selectable harvesting-process strategies is stored in the memory; and wherein in order to implement a particular selected harvesting-process strategy, of the plurality of selectable harvesting-process strategies, the computing unit autonomously determines at least one machine parameter and specifies the machine parameter to the threshing unit.

2 . The combine harvester according to claim 2 , wherein the at least one machine parameter is a threshing-unit parameter.

3 . The combine harvester according to claim 1 , wherein a functional system model for at least one part of the combine harvester is stored in the memory and wherein the computing unit carries out the autonomous determination of the at least one threshing-unit parameter on a basis of the functional system model.

4 . The combine harvester according to claim 3 , wherein the computing unit aligns the functional system model with a current harvesting-process state during an on-going harvesting operation, cyclically.

5 . The combine harvester according to claim 1 , wherein in order to implement the particular selected harvesting-process strategy, the computing unit cyclically determines the at least one machine parameter and specifics the at least one machine parameter to the threshing unit.

6 . The combine harvester according to claim 4 , wherein the current harvesting-process state includes field information selected from the group consisting of: “crop density,” “threshability,” “crop moisture” and harvesting-process parameters.

7 . The combine harvester according to claim 6 , wherein the harvesting-process parameters are selected from the group consisting of: “threshing losses,” “broken grain portion,” “material field height,” “separation losses,” “cleaning losses,” “slip threshing-unit drive,” “fuel consumption” and threshing-unit parameters.

8 . The combine harvester according to claim 7 , wherein the threshing-unit parameters are selected from the group consisting of: “drum speed,” “concave width” and environment information.

9 . The combine harvester according to claim 8 , wherein the environment information includes “ambient temperature,” “ambient humidity” or both.

10 . The combine harvester according to claim 4 , further comprising a sensor system configured to ascertain at least a portion of the harvesting-process state.

11 . The combine harvester according to claim 1 , further comprising an input/output wherein at least portion of a harvesting-process state is entered via the input/output device.

12 . The combine harvester according to claim 11 , wherein the computing unit generates queries related to the current harvesting-process state and outputs the queries via the input/output device and, wherein in response to a query, at least a portion of the current harvesting-process state is entered via the input/output device.

13 . The combine harvester according to claim 4 , wherein at least one initial model is stored in the memory and, wherein in a first autonomous determination of the at least one threshing-unit parameter is carried out by the computing unit on a basis of the at least one initial model.

14 . The combine harvester according to claim 13 , wherein at least two initial models are stored in the memory, wherein the computing unit selects one of the at least two initial models depending on the harvesting-process state, and wherein the computing unit makes a subsequent autonomous determination of the threshing-unit parameters based on said selected one of the at least two initial models.

15 . The combine harvester according to claim 1 , wherein the selectable harvesting-process strategies are each directed to an objective of setting or optimizing at least one harvesting-process parameter selected from the group consisting of: “threshing losses,” “broken grain portion,” “separation losses,” “cleaning losses,” “slip threshing-unit drive,” and “fuel comsumption” by specifying the at least one machine parameter as “drum speed,” “concave width” or both.

16 . The combine harvester according to claim 4 , wherein the functional system model depicts at least a portion of functional interrelationships between a harvesting-process parameter selected from the group consisting of: “threshing losses,” “broken grain portion,” “separation losses,” “cleaning losses,” “slip threshing-unit drive,” “fuel consumption” and at least one threshing-unit parameter.

17 . The combine harvester according to claim 16 , wherein the at least one threshing-unit parameter includes one of the group consisting of: “drum speed,” “concave width” and at least one further harvesting-process parameter.

18 . The combine harvester according to claim 17 , wherein the at least one further harvesting-process parameter comprises “material feed height”.

19 . The combine harvester according to claim 16 , wherein for a depiction of the functional interrelationships, at least one family of characteristics (A-J) is assigned to a harvesting-process parameter, and wherein harvesting-process parameter is the output variable of the at least one family of characteristics (A-J).

20 . The combine harvester according to claim 19 , wherein the harvesting-process parameter “material feed height” and a threshing-unit parameter are the input variables for the at least one family of characteristics (A-J).

21 . The combine harvester according to claim 16 , wherein a first family of characteristics (A, C, E, G, I) and a second family of characteristics (B, D, F, H. J) are assigned to at least one harvesting-process parameter.

22 . The combine harvester according to claim 21 , wherein the at least one harvesting parameter includes any of the group consisting of: “threshing losses,” “broken grain portion,” “separation losses,” “cleaning losses,” “slip threshing-unit drive,” and “fuel consumption,” for which families of characteristics the harvesting-process parameter forms a output variable in each case, and wherein at least one further harvesting-process parameter “material feed height,” threshing-unit parameter “drum speed” or both form the input variables for the first family of characteristics (A, C, E, G, I), and wherein the further harvesting-process parameter “material feed height” and the threshing-unit parameter “concave width” form the input variables for the second family of characteristics (B, D, F, H, J).

23 . The combine harvester according to claim 20 , wherein the computing unit selects the at least one family of characteristics (A-J) depending on the harvesting-process state and uses the selected at least one family of characteristics (A-J) as a basis for the autonomous determination of the at least one threshing-unit parameter.

24 . The combine harvester according claim 23 , wherein the computing unit aligns the at least one family of characteristics (A-J) with the current harvesting-process state during an on-going harvesting operation, cyclically, wherein at least one initial family of characteristics is stored in the memo

Assignees

• Claas Selbstfahrende Erntemaschinen Gmbh

Inventors

• Heitmann Christoph
• Wilken Andreas
• Baumgarten Joachim
• Neu Sebastian
• Bussmann Christoph
• Voecking Henner
• Teroerde Stefan
• Vieregge Christopher

Classifications

• G05B17/02

  electric · CPC title

• A01D41/127 Primary

  Control or measuring arrangements specially adapted for combines · CPC title

• G05B13/021

  in which a variable is automatically adjusted to optimise the performance · CPC title

• A01D41/1273

  for measuring grain loss · CPC title

• A01F12/58

  Control devices; Brakes; Bearings · CPC title